The first episode of Krzsztof Kieslowski sets the tone for the nine episodes that follow. Based loosely on the theme of the Ten Commandments, the director, and his collaborator, Krzsztof Piesiewicz, expanded on the idea of "I am the Lord, thy God, thou shalt not have any other God but me", the first commandment of the ten.
The premise is simple enough, yet there are so many things Kieslowski touches upon, that even a longer version of the commandment wouldn't come across as clear as the director presents it to his audience. We meet the young, sweet Pawel, whose father works at a university as a professor. Pawel comes home to ask his dad about subjects that coming from the mouth of such a young boy, make his father unsure about what to answer, even from a learned man like himself.
Pawel and his father love their computers in which the father creates mathematic problems for the young boy to solve. They are also into playing chess. We watch as the father beats a woman who must be some sort of champion and has not lost until she plays the father. When Pawel discovers the hidden ice skates meant for him to have for Christmas, he asks his father's permission to go to the nearby lake. The father having checked his computer, and based on the numbers he got back, allows the boy to go skating but not to go too far out.
Kieslowski makes Pawel question his father in all matters of life and death. The father gives his son answers from the way he perceives life around him; after all, he is a man whose knowledge is based on science. The father's faith is questioned after the tragedy that involves Pawel and makes him look inside himself to make sense of the way things happened. Kieslowski makes clear that the world of science and the world of religion, while not mixing at all, clash because Krzsztof, the agnostic professor has no use for a higher, and unknown power.
The three actors who appear in this segment are nothing short of perfection. Henryk Baranowski is the father. The excellent Maja Komorowska, plays Irina, the aunt, and the sweet Wojciech Klala is seen as Pawel.
Kiewslowski, one of the most humanistic directors from Poland, clearly demonstrates why he was one of the best. His untimely death came much too early. He is sadly missed.
The premise is simple enough, yet there are so many things Kieslowski touches upon, that even a longer version of the commandment wouldn't come across as clear as the director presents it to his audience. We meet the young, sweet Pawel, whose father works at a university as a professor. Pawel comes home to ask his dad about subjects that coming from the mouth of such a young boy, make his father unsure about what to answer, even from a learned man like himself.
Pawel and his father love their computers in which the father creates mathematic problems for the young boy to solve. They are also into playing chess. We watch as the father beats a woman who must be some sort of champion and has not lost until she plays the father. When Pawel discovers the hidden ice skates meant for him to have for Christmas, he asks his father's permission to go to the nearby lake. The father having checked his computer, and based on the numbers he got back, allows the boy to go skating but not to go too far out.
Kieslowski makes Pawel question his father in all matters of life and death. The father gives his son answers from the way he perceives life around him; after all, he is a man whose knowledge is based on science. The father's faith is questioned after the tragedy that involves Pawel and makes him look inside himself to make sense of the way things happened. Kieslowski makes clear that the world of science and the world of religion, while not mixing at all, clash because Krzsztof, the agnostic professor has no use for a higher, and unknown power.
The three actors who appear in this segment are nothing short of perfection. Henryk Baranowski is the father. The excellent Maja Komorowska, plays Irina, the aunt, and the sweet Wojciech Klala is seen as Pawel.
Kiewslowski, one of the most humanistic directors from Poland, clearly demonstrates why he was one of the best. His untimely death came much too early. He is sadly missed.