Episode Four Decalogue

Episode Four
Lauren Brooks
Very creepy. This movie gives new rise to the meaning opening Pandora’s Box. The commandment honor thy father and mother was one that I always have had trouble understanding and I think the one that people see the most gray area in; Especially today with the different sort of family dynamics that we have in our society. The daughter in this film also plays a very strange role and seems to change dramatically at one point in the film. There is the daughter before glasses and then the daughter after glasses.
The daughter before the glasses is innocent and questioning. She is also going through the typical transition from teenage girl to adulthood. The daughter after the glasses is one who has seen the letter (supposedly) and changes the relationship between her and who she thought was her father. She couldn’t just wait till it was time to open the letter and in doing so she faced the consequences of opening it. But after the fall out of the letter we find out that she really hasn’t opened the letter; yet things between her and her so called father have dramatically changed. It really doesn’t matter what’s in the letter, the fact is should she honor her mother and wait or does she have the right to open it now? And if this man isn’t really her father is she obligated to honor him? Where is the line drawn?
As a matter of fact I can think of a very common situation that happens in families that involves this choice, when your parents think you should be one thing and you want to choose a different path. Is it wrong to go against what they think is right?