Superb "Decalogue' in San Rafael
Wesley Morris, EXAMINER FILM CRITIC
WHAT IF one in every 10,000 boxes of Cracker Jacks contained a Liz Taylor wedding ring or one of OBD's gold caps? That's sort of the experience of finding an episode of dearly departed Krzysztof Kieslowski's 1988
"Decalogue" - bizarre, transporting, something to admire with friends. The Polish series has been making the art-house rounds for most of this decade and now has wound up at the newly renovated Rafael Film Center in San Rafael.
Together, the 10 installments run just under 10 hours. Long, but not the grueling, "Sorrow and the Pity" brand. Made for Polish television, Kieslowski has modernized the 10 Commandments with the kind of ponderous, haunting, funny, lucid vision that makes no claims to grandiosity, epic spectacle or May sweeps stunt-casting. We got "Rich Man, Poor Man." Goran in Krakow got this enthralling masterwork, the beauty and palpable humanity of which lingers in the soul for longer than the drive home.
Watching the entire collection in their one-week San Rafael stint might be difficult - they're packaged two by two (Noah would approve), but it's not necessary to see them chronologically. And, like all the stuff you can't put on a MasterCard, the experience of seeing just two episodes? Priceless. Then again, collect all 10!
"Decalogue 1 & 2" screen at 7 p.m. Friday, 9:20 p.m. Saturday and 7 and 9:20 p.m. Monday; "3 & 4" screen 9:20 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Sunday and 7 and 9:20 p.m. Tuesday; "5 & 6" play 2 p.m. Saturday, 4:20 p.m. Sunday and 7 and 9:20 p.m. Wednesday; "7 & 8" are at 4:20 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday and 7 and 9:20 p.m. Thursday; "9 & 10" play 7 p.m. Saturday, 9:20 p.m. Sunday and next Friday and Saturday. Call (415) 454-1222.<
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Wesley Morris