
Of Elephants and Toothaches: Ethics, Politics, and Religion in Krzysztof Kieslowski´s ´Decalogue´
Eva Badowska
This collection is the first to offer a genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Decalogue, a ten-film cycle of modern tales that touch on the ethical dilemmas of the Ten Commandments. The cycle’s deft handling of moral ambiguity and inventive technique established Kieślowski as a major international director.
Kieślowski once said, “Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way.” Of Elephants and Toothaches takes seriously the range of thought, from theological to skeptical, condensed in the cycle’s quite human tales. Bringing together scholars of film, philosophy, literature, and several religions, the volume ranges from individual responsibility, to religion in modernity, to familial bonds, to human desire and material greed. It explores Kieślowski’s cycle as it relentlessly solicits an ethical response that stimulates both inner disquiet and interpersonal dialogue.
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About Eva Badowska
Reviews for Of Elephants and Toothaches: Ethics, Politics, and Religion in Krzysztof Kieslowski´s ´Decalogue´
always. If I am successful in talking about toothaches, I think everyone will understand me.' Indeed, this collection as a whole speaks to this experience of 'toothaches' that afflicts us all. Like Kieslowski himself, the various contributors of this collection are willing to grope in the dark as they explore some of the most fundamental but uncharted facets of the human condition."
-John Caruana Ryerson University "This is a strong and timely collection that fills a gap in the existing English-language scholarship on a very significant work, and the important issues it raises."
-Paul Coates University of Western Ontario