Decalogue II

Dorota, who lives in the same block, asks the doctor treating her husband in hospital a single question: will he live. The answer is not hers to use lightly, because she is pregnant and the child is not her husband's; if he dies she will keep it, if he lives she will not. The doctor is forced to state something he does not medically know. In this part of the Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski takes up swearing an oath and one person deciding about another's life. The camera stays in narrow corridors and stairwells, and the building itself functions as a closed moral system. It runs under an hour and lands heavier than most features. Zbigniew Preisner's music is sparse and decisive. Who it is for: viewers who love Kieślowski and short narratives built on moral dilemma. Who it is not for: anyone wanting a clear answer, since the film leaves the question standing.