Episode VIII- You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor

            Part VIII of Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Decalogue, titled “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” does not follow Kieslowski’s usual trend of not directly illustrating the commandment referenced in the title of the episode. The messages of parts I-VII have been more subliminal than explicit. Part VIII, however, was not as difficult to match with its commandment. Though the entire episode is not about lies and deceit, the plot stems from an earlier occurrence of a woman’s refusal to lie. The way the storyline plays out makes it seem as though Kieslowski is saying that it is okay, justifiable, and even necessary to lie sometimes, rather than saying that lying is something everyone should stay far away from.

            Zofia, a Polish ethics professor, is visited at school one day by a professional acquaintance, a Jew named Elzbieta. Elzbieta asks to sit in on one of Zofia’s lectures, and Zofia more than happily agrees. During the lecture, Elzbieta tells a story that really hits home with Zofia. Unbeknownst to the students in the class, it is the story of their first encounter. Elzbieta was only 6 years old at the time, afraid for her life, and hiding from the Gestapo. Elzbieta was being moved from her hiding place to move in with Zofia and her husband, who were part of the Zegota, the Polish underground. After meeting Elzbieta, Zofia informs her that because of her and her husband’s devout Catholic faith, they are no longer willing to hide Elzbieta because it would require them to lie to the government. Elzbieta leaves right before curfew, and the two do not meet again until that fateful day at the university. The encounter haunts both of them their entire lives.

            In the beginning of the film, Zofia tells her students that “nothing is more precious than the life of a child”. That quote sticks in the mind of the viewer for the remainder of the film as you are forced to question how Zofia could believe that after what we find out she did to Elzbieta. The episode is mainly about forgiveness, reconciliation, and closure.

            These three elements are higlighted in the diegesis of the film. While most of the other parts in the series are more dark and gloomy, Episode VIII is one that begins and ends with sunshine, nice weather, and even birds singing. Out of the 5 parts I watched, this is the first time I have seen bright lighting and the use of happier, more peaceful music. I believe this change represents the fact that there is still a possibility for good after sin.

            I noticed a few things in this episode that connected it to the others. The first and most evident was a story told by a student in the first 5 minutes of the film. The story was the plot line of the Decalogue’s part II. I thought this was a very interesting technique used by Kieslowski to draw the films together. Another technique I noticed was that Kieslowski used the same setting for all 10 parts: a cramped Warsaw apartment.

            After it aired in 1988, the film gained a reputation as one of the best and most important in the whole series. This does not surprise me at all, as it was my favorite as well. As I mentioned earlier, Episode VIII is one that actually gave the viewer hope that wrongs could eventually be made right. 

Zofia and Elzbieta in the middle of a very serious conversation