Vatican Top 45 - Values

USCCB Rating:  A-III -- adults.    Movie Review

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• Decent Films Guide
  

Run Time:  Aproximately 55 Minutes per episode
Languages:  Polish
Subtitles:  English

Disc 1

I. "I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt not have other gods before me."

A university professor trusts in the infallibility of the computer and instructs his young son in its use. Anxious to try out a new pair of ice skates, the two consult the computer to calculate the safety of the thickness of the ice on a nearby pond. A freak thaw results in unforeseen and tragic consequences.

Cast: Henry Baranowski, Wojciech Klata, Maja Komorowska
Run Time: 53 Minutes


II. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain."

Dorota visits her dying husband in the hospital. She is pregnant by another man. She asks the doctor for her husband's prognosis - considering abortion should he live, choosing life for the fetus if her husband dies. By predicting the fate of the husband, is the doctor determining the life or death of the unborn child?

Cast: Krystyna Janda, Aleksander Bardini, Olgierd Lukaszewicz
Run Time: 57 Minutes


III. "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy."

A married man's Christmas Eve festivities are interrupted when he is enlisted by an ex-lover to desert his family and spend time with her searching the streets of Warsaw as she looks for an errant new boyfriend. Under various pretexts, she manages to keep him out until 7 a.m. convinced that this will now make her life "normal."

Cast: Daniel Olbrychski, Maria Pakulnis, Joanna Szczepowska
Run Time: 56 Minutes

Disc 2

IV. "Honor thy father and thy mother."

A young woman discovers a sealed envelope in her father's room that is marked "not to be opened before my death." Inside is a letter from her deceased mother, which reveals that Michal, is not, in fact, her biological father. A complicated new relationship emerges as the two struggle with this revelation.

Cast: Adrianna Biedrynsla, Janusz Gajos
Run Time: 56 Minutes


V. "Thou shalt not kill."

A psychotic youth randomly and brutally murders a taxi-driver. Arrested, he is given a young lawyer to defend him. Jacek is put on trial, found guilty and executed by hanging. Is an eye for an eye just, and does the legal system, in the name of the people and sanctioned by the government, have the right to kill?

Cast: Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, Jan Tesarz
Run Time: 57 Minutes


VI. "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

Tomek, a young post office worker, is obsessed with Magda, the promiscuous woman who lives in the apartment complex opposite his building. He spies on her through a telescope and takes a job as a milkman simply to hear her ask "who is it?" through the door. Obsession turns to love, and a meeting proves dangerous and pivotal for both.

Cast: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko
Run Time: 58 Minutes

VII. "Thou shalt not steal."

Six-year old Ania is being brought up by Ewa in the belief that Majka, Ewa's daughter, is her sister, whereas Majka is really her mother. Tired and saddened by the deception and desperate to have Ania love her as a mother, Majka "kidnaps" Ania and runs away from her parents. She will only return home if her mother allows her to bring up her own daughter in the recognition of the true relationship.

Cast: Anna Polony, Maja Barelkowska, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Boguslaw Linda
Run Time: 55 Minutes

Disc 3

VIII. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor."

Elzbieta, researching the fate of Jewish war survivors, is visiting from New York and sits in on lectures in ethics at the University of Warsaw. An ethics professor is forced to acknowledge her past as Elzbieta reveals herself as the Jewish girl whom Zofia refused to hide from the Nazis during the Occupation. As Zofia explains that the reason for this was apparent cowardice, her long-standing sense of guilt is cleared while Elzbieta's faith in humanity is restored.

Cast: Maria Koscialkowska, Teresa Marczewska
Run Time: 55 Minutes

IX. "Thou shalt not covet they neighbor's wife."

A once promiscuous, but now important doctor encourages his wife to take a lover. Consumed by jealousy that she may have taken his advice, he obsessively spies on her and learns of her relationship with Mariusz, a young student. Unaware that she has broken off the affair, Roman resorts to drastic measures.

Cast: Ewa Blaszczyk, Piotr Machalica, Artur Barcis
Run Time: 58 Minutes

X. "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods."

A black comedy of financially strapped brothers, Jerzy and Artur, who unexpectedly inherit a small fortune when their father dies, leaving them the most valuable stamp collection in Poland.

Cast: Jerzy Stuhr, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Henryk Bista
Run Time: 57 Minutes


Directed by Krysztof Kieslowski
*****Polish with English subtitles*****