Decalogue Movie Response

Decalogue

Movie Response

Midrash is defined as an interpretive act that seeks the answer to religious questions by plumbing the meaning of the words of the Torah. Midrash fills in the gaps in Biblical texts. It also responds to contemporary problems and crafts new stories, which in turn makes connections between new Jewish realities and the unchanging Biblical text. There are two types or Midrash, Midrash Halacha, which is more focused on law and religious practice, and Midrash Aggadah, which interprets biblical narrative and explores questions of ethics or theology or creating parables based on the text.

Film can be used as a form of Midrash, as it can be used to help build connections between modern earthly matters, and biblical text. Film would fall more under the category of Midrash Aggadah, as it interprets narratives, explores questions of ethics/theology, and also creates parables, or strories. 

The Decalogue is a good example of Midrash, as it helps to connect Earthly occurances and circumstances and the 10 Commandments. The visual films do work as sybmols to bridge the gap of understanding between humanly matters and the sovereignty of the 10 Commandments. In the first Decalogue film, for example, the issue is the idolization of science. Rather than placing his faith in God, the father places his faith and trust in science, and in the end this results in the death of his son, as science fails him. 

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