''Dekalog: Three'' (Polish: Dekalog, trzy) is the third part of ''

Dekalog ''Dekalog'' (, also known as ''Dekalog: The Ten Commandments'' and ''The Decalogue'') is a 1988 Polish drama television miniseries directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew P ...

'', the drama series of films directed by Polish director

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994) ...

for

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

, possibly connected to the third and sixth imperatives of the Ten Commandments: ''"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy" and "Thou shalt not commit adultery".''

Plot

It is

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

. Janusz (

Daniel Olbrychski Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles ...

), a

taxicab driver A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice ...

, plays Święty Mikołaj (roughly equivalent to Santa Claus) for his children and then comes home as himself (crossing paths briefly with Krzysztof from Dekalog: One) to his wife and children, in order to spend the evening with them. They attend

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

in the city. There he spots Ewa (Maria Pakulnis), with whom he had an affair three years earlier. Ewa just happened upon the church after visiting her senile aunt in the

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple i ...

(the confused aunt asks Ewa whether she's done her homework, but also enquires after her husband). Ewa later comes to Janusz's place looking for her ex-lover, asking him to help her find her husband, who she says has disappeared. Janusz leaves his house saying that his taxi has been stolen, although his wife (

Joanna Szczepkowska Joanna Szczepkowska (Polish pronunciation: ; born 1 May 1953) is a Polish film and theatre actress and writer. She appeared in more than thirty films since 1975. Life and career She made her debut on televion in 1975 by appearing in episode 1 of ...

) suspects something and suggests he leave it alone. Janusz answers that the taxi is their sole source of income and leaves. Janusz and Ewa spend the whole night driving around the city, discussing past and present. Janusz is eager to go home and be with his family on Christmas evening, but Ewa is desperate and manages to keep him with her by setting up clues along the way to track her husband down. They inquire in hospitals and at the train station. Eventually Janusz sees through her game but does not say anything. When the clock strikes seven the next morning, Ewa reveals that she has been lying to Janusz. She is no longer with her husband; they divorced right after her tryst with Janusz, and he has been living with his new family in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

for the past three years. She is now forced to face the holidays all alone while watching other families share the love and peace that she does not have. Ewa reveals that she had set up a scheme in her mind - if she succeeded in her "game" keeping Janusz away from his family till 7am, all would be well again. If not, she would commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. They part at dawn, with Janusz returning to his family and Ewa to her loneliness. When Janusz gets home, his suspecting wife asks him whether he has restarted his affair with Ewa. He promises never to see her again.http://filmsufi.blogspot.com/2009/03/dekalog-3-remember-sabbath-day-to-keep.html Episode overview

Theme

The film explores characters facing one or several moral or

ethical dilemma In philosophy, ethical dilemmas, also called ethical paradoxes or moral dilemmas, are situations in which an agent stands under two (or more) ''conflicting moral requirements'', none of which ''overrides'' the other. A closely related definition c ...

s as they live in a large

housing project Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authorities, government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the d ...

in 1980's Poland.Robert Eber
The Decalogue movie and film review
rogerebert.suntimes.com, 2 April 2000, retrieved 6 June 2017 The themes can be interpreted in many different ways; however, each film has its own literality:

Cast

- Janusz * Maria Pakulnis - Ewa *

- Janusz's wife *

Artur Barciś Artur Barciś (; born 12 August 1956) is a Polish actor. His television appearances include Krzysztof Kieślowski's anthology series '' Dekalog'' (1989), the soap opera '' Aby do świtu...'' (1992), and '' Kurierzy'' ("Couriers"). From 2006 to 2 ...

- tram-driver * Krystyna Drochocka - aunt * Krzysztof Kumor - doctor *

Henryk Baranowski Henryk Baranowski (9 February 1943 – 27 July 2013) was a Polish theatre, opera and film director, actor, stage designer, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. He is best known for his starring role in the film '' Dekalog: One'' directed by Krzys ...

- Krzysztof * Jacek Kalucki - policeman * ''In other roles:'' Zygmunt Fok, Jacek Kalucki, Barbara Kolodziejska, Maria Krawczyk, Jerzy Zygmunt Nowak, Piotr Rzymszkiewicz, Wlodzimierz Rzeczycki, Wlodzimierz Musial

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dekalog 03 1988 films Films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski Films scored by Zbigniew Preisner 1980s Polish-language films Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Piesiewicz Films with screenplays by Krzysztof Kieślowski