IMPORTANT relationships are hard to
forget. Dekalog 3 is another film about a couple who have supposedly moved on
from a former relationship, but still, and always will have, a strong affection
due to a former intense association. In this case it is unbalanced because
Janusz is in a new marriage with loving kids and it appears to be a strong
relationship. Ewa, on the other hand, is alone, and has been for years, and it
is cold, and it is Christmas Eve in Poland, and she is feeling sad and
regretful. It reminds me a little of the end of ‘The Umbrellas of Cherbourg’,
although Guy’s marriage is presented as stronger than Janusz’, and Genevieve is
still married to Roland, and has her little girl, and she comes across as
merely wistful in that film.
Ewa is a bit unstable, and she plays
games in order to be able to survive Christmas Eve, ensuring her former lover is with her the whole evening,
and into the morning. Janusz is with Ewa helping her with her problems, instead
of being with his wife and children. “Thou shalt remember the Sabbath and keep
it holy” is the commandment here, although Janusz is hardly to blame for
missing the family event.
Initially, Janusz has the look of
being burdened by events from the past. Ewa tells him her husband, Edward, has
disappeared, and the whole evening is spent looking for him in places like
casualty wards in hospitals. Janusz seems to somehow warm to his mission, and
soon it becomes clear that he still has feelings for his soft-faced ex-lover. He
is a willing accomplice in her games, and at one point, in her apartment, they
almost kiss, until they come to their senses. Ewa is the classic femme fatale
with her watery eyes and helpless looks ,almost begging Janusz to be with her. Later she
admits her deceit, and explains that her husband left her years ago, firmly
establishing her lonely, displaced state.
There is a lovely Christmas feel about
this episode- a suffused glow of coloured lights, soft, downy snow, some scenes
of Christmas lights seen hazily and romantically through muted windows. It helps
us feel Ewa’s pain. This is, however, not the strongest of the Dekalog films. I
felt there was something intangible missing. An interesting exploration of
relationships but perhaps not as intelligent or complex as most of the others.
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