Decalogue: Five, The (1989)
**** (out of 4)
"Thou Shalt Not Kill" is the main setting for this fifth and so far best film in the series. The film tells the story of a young man (Miroslaw Baka) who wonders the city bored and not doing much. Out of no where he jumps into the back of a taxi and brutally murders the driver (Jan Tesarz) who begs for his life. The young man is sentenced to death, which doesn't sit right with his lawyer (Krzysztof Globisz) who doesn't understand why one murder is right but the other wrong. I'll be honest up front and admit that I do not take the same political view as the director or his message here. I'll be honest and say that I feel the young man deserved to die but that doesn't mean I can't still be amazed at what the director does here. This is certainly the best film I've seen from the series so far and it's also one of the best movies I've seen period. The way Kieslowski tells the story is a masterpiece in its own right just because of how everything is set up. I loved how he let us see and get to know both characters before the events which lead to murder. An added twist is that both the killer and the victim are both rather obnoxious and neither men could be considered good. I guess one could say that the death of the taxi driver didn't really matter but I think that would be preaching against what this series preaches for. On the other hand, are we suppose to take pity on the killer just because he didn't kill a good person? Are we suppose to feel sorry for the killer before of the tragic events earlier in his life? For me, I felt sorry for the obnoxious guy who was begging for his life only to be tortured and eventually killed. I do respect the director for asking so many questions and his handling of the subject is brilliant done from a technical point of view. Even greater are the three performances from the actors who really do amazing work. This is especially true for Baka who must go through a wide range of emotions from the bored teen to the man facing his own death.
