Decalouge 3&4 - Andrew

Commandment: Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy. Honor thy Father and Mother
One thing that is interesting about each of these short films is that each character is terribly mercurial. This has really made the discussions interesting because each viewer seems to have their own perspective or opinion about who is right/wrong or good/evil. Kip noted this tonight, and I think it is really fascinating and revealing. Human relationships are rarely so simple that they can be sorted out into clear and definite categories. How often is that fights are resolved only when each side is willing to admit their share of the blame? Each of these films focuses on the complicated interactions of people who are themselves complicated. I think that is why it is so difficult to walk away from these films with a sense of resolution. Kieślowski is not trying to make us feel better by placating our souls with answers that are impossible to know, rather he is provoking us see beyond our stock answers and wrestle with what is beyond. In an interesting way it is much like the answers that Jesus gives the Jewish religious leaders when they try to trap him into a conflict with the law. In almost every case he dismisses their question by revealing their own ignorance and blindness. This leads one down the road of wondering how anything in the Bible can be interpreted with assurance, but maybe that is how everything worth discovering is. To be honest I'm not sure I like these films, and I always walk out feeling frustrated. At times I feel that the big pay off (or revelation) of the film is not worth the anguish that it took to get there. It's not that I don't connect with the lessons. I can definitely understand the 4th film and the idea of not dragging out someone's skeletons. But I'm still just not quite feeling it. I should have a lot more to say, but I'm terrible at analyzing films, especially so soon after I've viewed them.