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Both the director and the series quickly became popular in Europe, but North American distributors held out for too long with the release in the United States. Some copies did trickle in from Europe shortly after the films were completed but only recently has a subtitled The Decalogue shown up at some urban Blockbuster stores and more ambitious cinemas. Filmed in 1988 and 1989 in Poland, the series showcases some arguably humorous remains of totalitarianism (the rudeness of the government-run hospital staff in Part Two for example), but they're not the main emphasis. Kieslowski purposely left out many facts of socialist Poland for the sake of reaching international audiences. He wanted viewers to wrestle with the truths of the Ten Commandments not out of their nationality, but out of their humanity.

Agnieszka Tennant is an assistant editor of Christianity Today.

Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

The Kieslowski homepage is a tribute to the director with a biography and listings of all of his films.

Every online review of The Decalogues is lengthy and full of accolades.

The Internet Movie Database has more information about the film, such as credited cast and crew and related recommendations.

The Decalogue VHS set or DVDs are available from a variety of retailers.

Other Christianity Today articles relating to the Ten Commandments include:

Ten-Commandments Judge Aims for High Post | After taking on the ACLU, Moore is now a nominee for the Alabama Supreme Court. (July 31, 2000)

Hang Ten? | Thou shalt avoid Ten Commandments tokenism. (March 6, 2000)

Take Ten Commandments and Call Me in the Morning | How religion makes us healthy. (Nov. 15, 1999)

House Upholds Display of Ten Commandments | (Aug. 9, 1999)

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February 5 2001, Vol. 45, No. 2