A Short Film About Killing (1988)

A Short Film About Killing is the fifth installment of Krzysztof Kieślowski's Decálogo, a cinematic meditation on the Ten Commandments. The film constructs a devastating moral argument against the death penalty by depicting two murders: the brutal crime of a taxi driver at the hands of a disturbed young man, and the subsequent execution of the murderer by the State. Both deaths are filmed with stark realism and without aesthetic concessions, forcing the viewer to confront the brutality of the act of killing in any context. The message is clear: the Fifth Commandment admits no exceptions. The work neither romanticizes the criminal nor trivializes his guilt, but neither does it validate institutional vengeance disguised as justice. The law student functions as an impotent witness to a system that perpetuates the cycle of violence. The artistic quality is indisputable — expressionistic cinematography, restrained performances, precise direction — but the visual rawness categorically excludes family viewing. This is a work for adults with formed judgment who seek to confront the mystery of evil and the inviolable dignity of all human life. Not recommended for minors under any circumstances.