The superbly cast 'Decalogue IV' draws its strength from ambiguity – psychological portraits, human reactions and the director’s message. Carried through the daring performances delivered by Janusz Gajos and Adrianna Biedrzycka, years later it remains one of the most unobvious episodes of the legendary series.
It starts with an envelope and a mysterious letter. It was left by Anka’s (Adrianna Biedrzyńska) mother. Aware of her imminent death, she decided to write a letter to her daughter, who only reads it a dozen or so years later. The letter’s 'guardian' is Michał (Janusz Gajos), Anka’s father, who single-handedly brought her up as a young woman curious about the world. One day, in her father’s absence, Anka finds the letter. Curious about its content, she is at the same time afraid of what might be written in it.
So begins a family drama in which Kieślowski tries to interpret the content of the fourth commandment in an original way: 'Honour thy father and thy mother'.
His Decalogue IV is one of the most controversial episodes of the legendary series – primarily due to the theme of incest, which Kieślowski and Piesiewicz (co-screenwriter of The Decalogue) pull out of the realm of taboo and face on screen.
There are no easy answers in their story. Did Anka read the letter? What did the girl’s mother really write? How will this change Anka and Michał’s relationship? All these questions remain unresolved here. What counts is the game, a kind of psychological provocation in which Anka – a young, budding actress – tries to understand the relationship between her and her father. Or maybe Michał is not her biological parent at all, and their relationship – full of unspoken feelings – can change its character? The director of The Decalogue is not afraid of these questions. He asks them without a sensational tone, remaining faithful to the logic and emotions of his characters.
His film is a story about the awkwardness that we experience in a world devoid of certainties. For Anka and Michał, a mysterious letter – deliberately left by their father in a prominent place – becomes an excuse to travel together to the past, to confront their own suspicions and repressed feelings.
In one scene, the heroine descends into the basement located in her block of flats. To reach the heirlooms, she has to throw successive artefacts of her childhood out to the corridor – a rocking horse, forgotten toys, etc. In Kieślowski’s film, this scene becomes a symbol of Anka’s journey, forced to reject everything she believed in to understand the truth about herself and her father, about the feelings between them – jealousy, fascination, but also a sense of security.
The courage with which Kieślowski and Piesiewicz confront the taboo of incest makes Decalogue IV one of the most outstanding in the whole ten-part series. This is mainly due to the actors who skilfully escape from psychological banality and schematic poses. Adrianna Biedrzyńska creates a portrait of a person who is both lost and cynical about other people’s emotions. Janusz Gajos, on the other hand, creates a masterful performance. Reserved as usual, he creates an emotional picture of a man and a father, someone both devoted and uncertain of his feelings. These phenomenal roles, combined with sophisticated staging and the courage to balance on the edge of meanings, make Decalogue IV one of the most important works in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s oeuvre and the brightest (next to his 'Short films...') point of the series.
- Decalogue IV. Directed by: Krzysztof Kieślowski. Screenplay: Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Cinematography: Krzysztof Pakulski. Music: Zbigniew Preisner. Cast: Janusz Gajos, Adrianna Biedrzyńska, Adam Hanuszkewicz, Helena Norowicz, Andrzej Blumenfeld. Polish premiere: 10.12.1989.