Decalogues Vincent Farino

Vincent Farino

In these Decalogue short movies there were two commandments from the Bible that were displayed. The first was “You shall have no other gods before me” (Holy Bible). During this Decalogue there were many uses of the visual mediums. There was a god like figure in this Decalogue that if one looked closely could see gave the man a very serious look. He was dressed as a bum and was very mysterious throughout the film. Whenever this character was shown I could feel a sense of mysterium that made me wonder of his meaning.

Another visual was the computer. This computer was a god to the man. The man revolved his life around knowledge and facts. This computer worked as a symbol to bridge the gap of understanding. The symbol that it represented was a god that the man relied on. This connection is how those who believe in God relate. When they face a problem they turn to God in prayer. This man however when he had a problem he turned to his computer and his knowledge.

This film showed the man that he couldn’t control life or death for that matter. No matter how much knowledge and understanding he may have there is an “otherness” that plays into affect in this film. This film certainly made the connection of the moment to the eternity. The man realized that there is a higher being and that his control on life is not as effective as he thought.

The second Decalogue played on the commandment that “thou shall not murder” (Holy Bible). This Decalogue had similar symbols and meanings like that with the god figure. This time the god figure was a traffic man and a janitor. The symbolic connection that he played was to warn the man that he is going down a deadly path. There was another symbol in this film and that was the little kids. Everytime the boy (the murderer) saw the kids he would laugh or smile. This reminded him of his sister who he lost in an accident. I believe that this pain that he would feel when remembering his sister is what motivated him to kill the taxi driver.

Both of these films displayed the commandments in different ways. Both times the main characters went against the commandments, and they both experience great pain and anguish for that. Both films displayed that man does not have as much control of his life as he thinks he does.