Amanda: Decalogue 7

Decalogue 7: “thou shall not steal”

This chapter of the Decalogue follows a complicated story of an unconventional family and examines what it means to truly be a mother. The main character, Majka, is clearly feeling like she has no role or purpose in life and sees motherhood as a good way to fill this void.

As the story unfolds we discover that Majka already has a child when she was younger, and her mother, Eva, created a plan when Majka became pregnant at the age of 16 to raise the child as her own. Majka fails to think if she is fit to be a mother or if her actions will have a positive effect on her child and goes against the plan she Eva set out six years prior to when we meet the characters. She then tells the child, Ania, who was raised to believe that Majka is her sister and Eva is her mother that she is in fact her mother and Eva is her grandmother. She takes Ania one day and sets out on her plan to run away to Canada and raise the girl on her own.

It is clear that the hostile relationship between Majka and Eva is one of the main driving forces in this irrational decision. It is revealed thoughout the story that Eva was always very distant from Majka throughout her childhood, and was always upset that she couldn’t have more children. Majka felt that she was never good enough throughout her upbringing, so when Majka got pregnant it was a perfect way for Eva to manipulate the situation and have another daughter to raise.

The main dilemma presented in the film is whether Majka’s actions should be considered stealing or if her actions are justified. Ania is her biological daughter, but she did not raise the young girl herself, so we must decide for ourselves which is more important in the role of a mother. The audience must decide if genes or nurturance should be held above the other in the raising of a child. In the movie Majka even expresses this dilemma herself when she says, “can you steal something that’s yours?”

I sympathize greatly with Majka’s situation yet I do not think that her decision was the right one to make. If she was in fact thinking of the best interest of the child she wouldn’t have revealed this intense, life altering information to a 6 year old. When Majka runs to Ania’s biological father for help I thought his reaction to the situation to be the most interesting. He appears to want to help her yet he tells her to take Ania back and plainly states, “You’ll ruin the child.”

In the end, the last shot of the film is extremely powerful and, was my opinion, the perfect way to end the story. I thought it was brilliant when Ania tore away from Eva’s arms to run after the train and the image of young Ania’s young face watching Majka ride away in the train is still burned in my mind. The anguish on her face spoke volumes to what must have been occurring in her young, confused mind and made the story conclude without directly telling what will occur in the future.

This moment is an intense epiphany information for the child and we see her grow up right before our eyes. I interpreted Ania running after the train to mean that in the end Majka will work through the many personal issues she has and to return one day when all three of the women have matured and figured out how they will personally deal with this truth. Only then could she possibly be a fit parent to Ania, and play a positive role in her life. It is clear in this last moment that even though none of the women recognized this before, they all need each other and the only way they can each be mended is to face this truth together rather than try to cover it up.