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Dekalog 2 (1988)

A review by Damian Cannon.
Copyright © Movie Reviews UK 1997
Inspired, though not chained to, the second Commandment, Dekalog 2 explores the common preoccupation with the amount of power doctors have over life and death. Resident in the instantly recognisable apartment complex, a hospital consultant (Aleksander Bardini) lives alone, but for his cacti and thoughts. He has a bustling housekeeper but beyond this his energies are directed towards medical matters, where he tends critically ill patients such as Andrzej (Olgierd Lukasiewicz). Burdened with possibly terminal cancer, his wife is desperate for solid information on his prognosis. Dorota (Krystyna Janda) even takes to hanging around near the Consultant's flat, even though he only officially sees relatives at 2-5 on Wednesdays.

Her persistence pays off, partly because the Consultant and Dorota already know each other (she ran over his dog a few years previously). Inviting the nervous Dorota in, the Consultant mentions how difficult it is to make accurate predictions. At the moment all he can counsel is to wait and see, news which fails to satisfy Dorota. She is fixated upon obtaining a definitive answer for one very good reason, that she is pregnant. The moral problem is that the father is not Andrzej, while an added complication is that this may be the only child she is ever able to conceive. Thus, if Andrzej lives then she must obtain an abortion, a real psychological dilemma. However, the Consultant is unwilling to play God just for her.

In Dekalog 2 Kieslowski touches upon several extremely thorny philosophical questions and handles them with remarkable delicacy. The problem facing Dorota is the choice between one of two lives, that of her husband or her unborn child. As the two seem to be mutually exclusive she is forced to make a choice, which she attempts to cunningly transfer to the Consultant. By making his diagnosis the key to her actions, she makes him directly responsible for at least one death (whereas all he normally has to do is prevent one). This is tantamount to assuming a God-like position as far as the Consultant is concerned, against which he rebels (even though his personal beliefs provide a single god for him only). However, the advantage of such power is the ability to influence Dorota such that no lives are lost.

A wonderful feature of Kieslowski's work is his ability to introduce background information without resorting to plainly artificial techniques. For example, the Consultant has experienced a loss which directly colours his response to the queries of Dorota. This is a significant detail yet it gets slipped in so naturally that it feels as though the knowledge had always been there. In Dekalog 2 Kieslowski is immeasurably aided by his talented cast, all of whom work well in the limited time available. As a woman being torn apart by divided love, Janda is excellent, while Bardini is fine as the world-weary yet compassionate healer.

Once again, great camera-work and a suitable choice of music form part of the greater whole. These elements are masterfully conducted by Kieslowski, painting a complex picture of the working-class inhabitants of these particular tower blocks. While the emotional peaks and troughs aren't quite as extreme as in some of the other entries in the series, this is still a highly impressive film.

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