Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue Series: The Problem of the Protagonists and Their Self-Transcendance by Christopher Garbowski EAST EUROPEAN MONOGRAPHS, BOULDER DISTRIBUTED BY COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS, NEW YORK 1996EAST EUROPEAN MONOGRAPHS, NO. CDLII Copyright © 1996 by Christopher Garbowski ISBN 0-88033-349-9 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 96-84142 Printed in the United States of America Acknowledgements This book was originally written as 8 doctoral dissertation under the supervision ofthe Reverend Prof. Tadeusz Zasepa at the Inter-Faculty Chair of Media and the Communication of Faith atthe Catholic University of Lublin in Poland. | wish to express my profound gratitude to Rev. Prof Zasepe, without whose guidance the book would certainly not have taken on the form it has. I also wish to thank Professors Artur Blaim, ‘Andrzej Sulikowski and Wojciech Chyga for their careful readings of the manuscript. ‘Last hut not least. I wish to thank my wife Monika for her many readings ofthe book and ‘wise comments and support throughout the entire period of my research and writingContents INTRODUCTION Kieslowski ‘The Decalogue Series As Religious Art ‘The Audio-Visual Work Of Art And The Protagonist CHAPTER ONE: The Decalogue Series And The Protagonist... ‘The Decalogue Set... ‘The Problem Of The Protagonist. | CHAPTER TWO: Space, Time And The Protagonist ‘Outer Bodiy/Innet BOY... Sma unin roan ‘Narrative Time Symbolic Time Historical Time Versus Existential Time CHAPTER THREE: Incamating The Protagonist Apgcbndng Te Pesos Visual Elements... Dialogue ‘Actos. ‘CHAPTER FOUR: The Protagonist And Their Self-Transcendence ‘The Protagonists And Values ‘The Protagonists And Their Responsibility Before God ‘The Axiology OF Existence ‘CONCLUSION FILMOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY 107