Camille Gross Midrash in Dekalog:One

Midrash refers to rabbinic literature that contains early interpretations along with commentaries on Written Torah and Oral Torah. Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog serves as his own interpretations of the Ten Commandments. Looking specifically at Dekalog: One, Kieslowski incorporates modern technology to relate to the First Commandment, which is not having any other gods except the “one, true” God. He uses technology to show how society is spending more time and reliability on technology, which will inevitably fail us at one point. Otto said, “Bliss or beatitude is more, far more, than the mere natural feelings of being comforted, of reliance, of the joy of love, however these may be heightened and enhance” (32). Technology is being used more frequently for storing important information, such as credit card information, paying taxes, etc. We rely on it so heavily because our access to it is incredibly easy and doing certain tasks now take less time. No inanimate object is built to last forever and will eventually fail. Kieslowski uses the characters of Pawel and Krysztof to relate to the audience and warn them of the dangers of relying too much on technology as well as the dangers of not spending enough time on things in our lives that should be top priority, such as family and working on our relationship with God. Technology may bring bliss and comfort temporarily but God’s power and love is never ending. 

The symbol to bridge the gap of understanding that sticks out the most in this film would be Krysztof and the painting of Mary. After discovering Pawel drowned, Krysztof goes to a Church and destroys the altar. In the process, he knows over a painting of Mary and a candle. The wax drips onto Mary’s face and she looks like she is weeping. Both Mary and Krysztof know the experience of losing a son in a violent manner with a crowd of people watching. This bridges the gap of understanding by showing that God’s plans will in the end be tremendous for everyone but there must be some sacrifices. Without suffering, there is no compassion. The more people use technology, etc. the more they are likely to feel disconnected to society and emotions. Now that Krysztof has experienced the worst tragedy anyone can imagine, maybe now he will look away from the computer screen and realize there are some things in life that cannot be explained but that’s okay because answers are not what brings us together, questions do.

Decalog: One relates feeling to meaning through Krysztof. Again, technology makes people feel disconnected, even emotionless, since we rely more on facts rather than trying to listen to what those who are in pain have to say. Through this horrible tragedy, Krysztof is left with questions he has no capability of answering: Why did this happen? Why my son? Etc. All the questions we ask in life will not always be answered but everything happens for a reason, even for reasons we may not see or realize.