Dekalog: Six
4 /10 1 Votes
Duration Language Polish | Director Krzysztof Kieslowski Country Poland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 1988 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dekalog: Six (Polish: Dekalog, sześć) is the sixth part of the television series Dekalog by Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski, possibly connected to the tenth imperative of the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not covet."
Contents
A naive young man, Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko), spies on a woman, Magda (Grażyna Szapołowska), and falls in love with her. An extended 86-minute feature version of this film is called Krótki film o miłości (A Short Film About Love).
Along with Dekalog: Five, the film selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot
Tomek (Olaf Lubaszenko) is a nineteen-year-old orphan, living with the mother of a friend and working at the local post office. He has been observing an attractive woman in her thirties, Magda (Grażyna Szapołowska), and fallen in love with her. He sends false notices from the post office to her, calling her to pick up money which does not exist, just to see her. In the evenings, he spies on her through a telescope, as she lives in an apartment opposite his, and calls her frequently. Magda sees many men in her apartment and Tomek manages to ruin her dates by calling the gas service to check a leak.
Tomek wants to see Magda, so he takes an extra job delivering milk in the mornings. Magda goes to the post office to collect a new note that Tomek sent her and is accused by the office manager of trying to rob the office by presenting false notes. Magda storms out of the post office; Tomek follows her and confesses to his peeping. She initially does not believe him, but when he says that she was weeping last night she becomes angry, because it was true.
That night Magda spots Tomek peeping again and makes signs that he should call her. He does so and she tells him to watch closely. She receives her current lover and, just as they are about to begin having sex, she stops and tells him of the peeping going on. He becomes angry, goes to Tomek's building and demands to speak with him; Tomek comes out and is beaten up by Magda's boyfriend.
The next day Magda opens the door as Tomek is delivering milk; he declares his love to her. After inquiring as to what he wants from her, which he cannot answer, she accepts a date to have ice cream. After the ice cream she engages in a little game: If they reach the bus home before it leaves, he shall go to her apartment, if not, he shall go home. Back at her apartment, she takes his hands and places them on her almost naked body. He is very excited and ejaculates before he can even touch anything other than her thighs. After this, she says that this is love and that's all there is to it; if he wants to clean up there are towels in the bathroom. Tomek is shattered and storms out of her place. Magda then feels badly and puts a sign in her window saying' "Sorry, please come back". He does not and tries to commit suicide by slashing his wrists. He is taken to hospital. Magda does not see him for a long time and becomes worried.
She recognizes that it is now she who is obsessed with him and tries to do everything to see him, talk to him, and explain everything. Some time later, Tomek is back from hospital and working again at the post office. Magda comes to see him there. Tomek says "I am no longer spying on you, madam."