Happy holidays, everybody. I'm finally
back after what feel like why too long. Once again I found myself
with positively too many things to take care of within any rational
amount of time. Most of it is my own fault for taking on too many
side projects. Plus there's some extra wasted time thanks the
security job having the distinct disadvantage of making me physically
ill these past two weeks. I believe it's a reaction to something in
my guard shack which means I have to devote some of my down time to
fending off illness and finding solutions to stop it from happening.
Oh, and did I mention I'm deep in Final Fantasy XV...yeah,
like usual I've gotten myself wrapped up in too much at once but I'm
starting to get on top of it all.
I suppose being overwhelmed is
something of a holiday cliche by this point. Many folks tend to find
themselves burred up to their eyeballs with excessive tasks, often
impeding their enjoyment of the season. That's a recurring theme in
plenty of holiday entertainment, but let's face it, that's usually
just trivial stuff. What about when you're having a genuinely crappy
holiday? Well that's a theme I want to tackle by talking about
possibly the most depressing Christmas special of all time, Dekalog
three.
Chances are there's a good many of you
with crossed eyes at the moment, wondering what on Earth Dekalog
is or how there manages to be multiple of them. Dekalog was a
late 80's mini-series for Polish television from acclaimed director
Krzysztof Kieslowski. It spanned ten episodes, each a morality tale
based loosely on one of the ten commandments and focused on residents
of one apartment complex. There's also a mystery man who appears in
most episodes as an observer to major events. While most of the
praise for this series is well earned, it's not without a few weak
points, episode two in particular is something of an artsy fartsy
misfire. When the series is on point though, it's stellar and they
don't get much better than three. I've been revisiting/finishing the
series recently thanks to a nice Blu-Ray release from Criterion,
sadly I can't offer up any screen caps from it on my puny laptop.
Let's not worry too much about eye candy and just focus on the story.
It's Christmas Eve in Warsaw. The
largely catholic populace is in full swing celebration with visits
from Santa, midnight mass, all that jazz. Rather fittingly the first
line of dialogue is spoken by a drunken man who can't find his home.
We're introduced to two seemingly unrelated individuals. Janusz is a
family man doing his best to make this a proper holiday. Ewa is a
lone woman who pays a melancholy visit to her dementia/Alzheimer
suffering aunt. The two people make eye contact during midnight mass
offering a big clue towards their shared history.
Turns out the two of them had an
affair years ago, before a mystery call to her husband sent the whole
thing belly-up. Tonight she claims that same husband has gone missing
and she needs Janusz's help in tracking him down. Thus begins a
whirlwind tour of a cold and quiet night through Warsaw, as the pair
visits morgues, drunk tanks, and the like in search of her husband.
During the long search we get some not
so subtle hints that there's something else going on. It seems Ewa
wants to keep her ex-lover out all night, but for what purpose
exactly? The answer to that is pretty damn brilliant but more
important is the onslaught of emotional baggage the two of them huck
at each other, especially when they play chicken with a tram car. I
mean these people have a hell of a time shaking off that nasty
break-up.
It all sounds petty depressing,
doesn't it? Believe it or not this ends up as one of the more
uplifting entries in the series. Things get dark, that's for certain
but by the end it seems as though everyone's a little stronger for
the ordeal. That's why I think it sits among some of the top tier
Christmas entertainment. Much as we'd like our holidays to be nothing
but merriment and joy, there's always a strong chance of things
turning to shit. The best seasonal tales reflect that, whether it be
a man tormented by spirits and regrets in A Christmas Carol,
or a violent hostage situation in Die Hard. Overcoming great
challenges either emotional or physical is such a more universal and
touching theme than magic babies or flying livestock.
Did I just go way off topic? Yes? Ok,
so what I'm getting at is how Dekalog Three may be the perfect
Christmas special for anyone having a hard time. There's a harsh
reality to the whole feature that's relatable to almost anyone yet
the setting of post communism Poland makes for something alien which
perks your interest. You can empathize with the flawed characters yet
learn by judging their mistakes and foibles.
One of my favorite touches, after the
pair has already visited so many grim locations, most recently a
drunk tank manned by an abusive official, they end up at the train
station where the plot twist will reveal itself. Before that happens
they meet a station worker stuck with the shitty duty of working
overnight into Christmas morning, but does the situation have her
beat down? Heck no, she rides around on her skateboard to stay awake.
The sight of a young upbeat individual interacting by two regretful
people at the end of a long night really helps to illustrate
different ways of coping with a bad holiday.
So yea, if you can manage it, check
out at least this episode of the Dekalog, so far it's my
favorite with one and five running closely behind, though I recommend
those only if you wish to curl up in a ball for a while. It could be
just the item to offset uplifting tales like Scrooged without
resorting to the bevvy of killer Santa movies. Not that those are
bad, mind you, I love me some killer Santa but it's always nice to
have a high class alternative.
Well it seems like things are starting
to run on schedule here again. I should have several updates up
before Christmas morning and this isn't the only place you'll find me
this month. Currently I'm putting the finishing touches on a post for
Dread Central, and am writing up an article that will hopefully
launch me on yet another site. Keep your eyes pealed. Until then, be
good little boys and girls and don't play chicken with trams.
No comments:
Post a Comment