Overview
Two brothers navigate the complexities of family and inheritance through a quirky lens of dark humor.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- darkly comic
- absurd
- wry
- arthouse film night
- polish cinema retrospective
What critics said
Critics broadly regard the episode as a sharply written, morally observant dark comedy with strong performances and characteristic Kieślowski ambiguity.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The brothers' valuable stamp collection triggers absurd, suspicious, and morally uncomfortable situations.
The inherited stamp collection drives the brothers' decisions, disputes, and encounters with thieves and dealers.
Jerzy and Artur must negotiate shared inheritance after their father's death, exposing tensions between kinship and self-interest.
The Polish setting, eccentric incidents, and precarious relationship to valuable property evoke a late-communist social atmosphere.
Films like Decalogue X, and why
The War of the Roses
darkly comic family conflict shaped by inheritance, greed, and moral compromise
The Squid and the Whale
biting comedy drama about siblings, property, and corrosive material desire
The Celebration
compact european tragicomedy balancing absurd incidents with serious ethical tensions
Movie Details
- Director
- Krzysztof Kieślowski
- Release Date
- 1989-05-16
- Runtime
- 57 min
- Rating
- 7.9 / 10 (144)
Cast
- Jerzy Stuhr
- Zbigniew Zamachowski
- Henryk Bista
- Olaf Lubaszenko
- Maciej Stuhr
- Jerzy Turek
- Anna Gornostaj
- Henryk Majcherek
- Elżbieta Panas
- Daniel Kozakiewicz
Common questions
- What is Decalogue X about?
- Two brothers discover that inheriting a prized stamp collection can turn family loyalty into a nervy, absurd contest of suspicion and greed.
- What is Decalogue X like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Decalogue X as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Decalogue X violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Decalogue X as mild.
- What did critics think of Decalogue X?
- Critics broadly regard the episode as a sharply written, morally observant dark comedy with strong performances and characteristic Kieślowski ambiguity.
- Which films are like Decalogue X?
- Films with a similar feel include The War of the Roses, The Squid and the Whale, and The Celebration.
- How long is Decalogue X?
- Decalogue X runs 57 minutes.
