In the third installment of our special 45th Anniversary series, Facets Film Program Director, Charles Coleman, tells the story of acquiring Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Decalogue (1988).

Transcript

In honor of Facets’ 45th anniversary, we thought it would be great to hear our program director Charles Coleman discuss one of the most formative moments in Facets’ history: the acquisition and screening of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s The Decalogue.

Emma Greenleaf

If you want to start with the process of acquiring the film for the screening.

Charles Coleman  0:24 

Yeah, well what happened was … I was a huge fan of Krzysztof Kieślowski  I admired many of the films he had done prior to The Decalogue.

And there’s something called the … he was part of this movement called the cinema of moral anxiety, which was this period in Poland at the end of the 70s, and through the 80s, where they had dealt with being occupied by the Russian government. And they actually had an identity crisis evolving the role in World War II. So basically, during the post-war, they were still trying to find their way in terms of how they regard themselves.

Filmmakers are probably the best means by which people kind of find out who they are in terms of their character and their culture. Same thing happened with Germany after World War II is called “Das Neue Kino” (New German Cinema), because they reemerged through an economic miracle and re-established their cultural identity.

And the people in Poland did the same thing. Moral anxiety came about because socially and politically, they weren’t quite sure about their place in the world. So, Kieślowski had done a number of films, such as Camera Buff, about this man that gets a camera. Then he gets this interesting job, and he winds up, by using the camera, seeing what was always around him in terms of how oppressed he was and how the workers were being mistreated.

So, Kieślowski  was always keen on self-awareness and the search with authentic self. So, him and his partner had this idea about The Decalogue, which is based on the 10 Commandments, and which is actually a, kind of guide to how will how one should behave in the world in terms of the search for justice. Kieślowski didn’t want it to be used as an illustration based on religious principles. He just thought “I’ll make a film based on each of the of the, of the 10 Commandments.” And it wasn’t really necessary for a particular viewer to know which Commandment had been adapted, because that was that wasn’t really the point. And that way, you got a chance to look at all facets of Polish society by demonstrating a particular commandment, and he found in history writing some very clever and subversive ways to bring this to the screen.

Now as I heard about this series … it played once a set a few select places in the country, but never got an extended engagement primarily because there was a couple in North America, Canada, in particular. And somehow, they were able to acquire proprietary rights to The Decalogue. And they are preventing anyone from showing it. Which to me I saw almost akin to a ransom note. I was thinking to myself there’s really nothing honorable about taking material that was ecumenically produced by talented filmmaker and then denying it to be seen by vested members of the general public and film critics and anyone that loves cinema. And I just saw this firewall that was precluding this from occurring.

I personally took it as a mission to bring it to Facets. Because I actually contacted them, and negotiations didn’t really go particularly well…and their fees were exorbitant.

Emma Greenleaf  5:35 

Oh, wow.

Still from A Short Film about Killing (1988)

Charles Coleman  5:36 

So, I decided, and I didn’t tell this to Milos, by the way. I mean, I wasn’t seeking approval. I had to create my own espionage mission to get this to Facets because, in many cases, I think that art is something that requires brave agents. There has been cases of films being banned and suppressed by various governments for particular reasons or censored. So, I saw this as a form of suppression.

So, I did some research and the films were shot for Polish TV. Something like what we would do today in a mini-series for Netflix or for any of our, you know, streaming services like Amazon Prime.

So I thought, “this is the year 1996, I’ll just contact the source!” And that was Film Polski, which is a state-run film production company set in Warsaw, but they also distributed films and they had been part of the post-war Communist government. But then they became a declared national enterprise so they’re able to start producing their own material and a lot of the key filmmakers in Poland found their authentic voices by working with Film Polski. So, I contacted them and to my pleasant surprise they did not find the whole idea of showcasing my access to these films. Even though they weren’t technically available.

So, in order to not attract too much attention, I decided to have the film shipped from Poland through London.

Emma Greenleaf  8:11 

Oh my gosh.

Charles Coleman  8:12 

And it was done by yeah, like courier. And I didn’t want to create any disturbances. … Then when I got to London, you know, Heathrow had to write these documents and making sure that the agents who are covering transit didn’t see any kind of indelicate materials or this is actually an artistic product now, and these are cans of film.

This is 35 millimeter. And so, I just kept waiting. You talk about…you know, I mentioned that cinema of moral anxiety–I was dealing with my own personal anxiety [laughs]…to get the films, you know, here.

Then once they got to London, I got the statements saying that the shipment had been approved to be sent from London. And then they arrived in Chicago, which was when I told Milos about it. Because my whole idea was, I didn’t think people should be denied the right to see artistic genius. Then I spent a lot of time making sure the print was secure and I started writing copy about the program. Setting in context, detailing the schedule. I decided to play it for two weeks because I thought that’ll be just enough time to not be in an unfavorable position. Because I don’t want to exploit the opportunity by giving it an extensive run so two weeks sounded good. Then I worked out a logistical screening map where I was able to maximize the number of shows because it’s 10 films each are an hour. Then once I put it in our printable program and the website, then I sent out a press release.

You would not believe the seismic appeal this film had when people realized it was at Facets. I mean, there are people who were… I hadn’t heard from in years, asking to see the films and how could they, you know, since there’s limited screenings. I was getting attention from, you know, members of the press that wanted to cover it. And people are asking for favors. And it was just…we sold out every night for two weeks.

Emma Greenleaf  11:22 

Wow.

Charles Coleman  11:23 

And it was, yeah, it was unbelievable. I mean, there are people lined up around the block for this program. And then people are asking me how I got the films, but I couldn’t … I couldn’t say it. I couldn’t make that declaration [laughs]. I just said, you know, rather than doing some kind of deep dive in terms of the intrigue, and the means by which the film was playing at Facets, just cherished opportunity that you can see them. … Then after the two weeks, I surreptitiously returned them to Film Polski.

And surprisingly, I think I did get some correspondence from the two people that had been holding up these films, but my calculation was that it would not serve them well. To try to file take any legal action on a program that can only enhance the value of the show in Chicago. And I also had this idea that perhaps they would be challenged to make the films available, because the word would get out why people couldn’t see them in the first place.

Well, this is what subsequently occurred…

Emma Greenleaf  13:04 

[Laughs] that’s amazing

Charles Coleman  13:05 

After it plays in Chicago, then it played at the Lincoln Center in New York and the word was just…it was almost like sending off the tremors and then you get like an earthquake, you know, like the perimeter coming from Facets was like extraordinary.

And then and we get so much attention from that and it just drove everything else. Meaning everything we did after that was really successful. And thanks to those contacts, we subsequently acquired it for Facets to distribute on our own label—The Decalogue. Which was a financial bounty, and Milos couldn’t have been happier. But, like I said, that was something I decided to try, because I just personally, I just felt it was necessary for this type of filmmaker to be, I thought he deserved every means by which his extraordinary talent could be declared.

The Decalogue‘s first release by Facets on VHS

And then after that, you know, I wanted to have a retrospective on Kieslowski’s films and I also had something called a “pre-Decalogue” retrospective. So, people can see, he didn’t come out of nowhere. And we also had a series of films on what inspired him to become a filmmaker. And then later on, I did a series called The Age of War and Anxiety, while showing other filmmakers that were part of this particular movement. So the whole thing turned into this extraordinary opportunity. And, you know, despite the fact I took a, let’s say, I was at the deep end of the risk pool. But yeah, sometimes I want to do that because I just truly…I just totally really admire any artists, particularly a filmmaker like Krzystof Kieslowski. And and it was one of Facets’ greatest exhibition success stories.

Emma Greenleaf  15:45 

That is so cool.

Charles Coleman  15:48 

[Laughs] thank you very much for that endorsement.

You know, and it’s just, it just opened so many other doors and it’s you know, it’s a legitimate part of Facets folklore and legend, except that is completely true. I’m actually wondering if I’ve got the documents because I put a lot of work into it writing copy, because you want to send things to Film Polski. Because, you know, this is I think it was faxed and emailed. And, you know, had to convince them that they should do this. They should send it to me. I was actually like a fierce advocate. And I must have been, I was must have been convincing because they could have just ignored it.

Emma Greenleaf  16:45 

Yeah, that’s surprising. It’s amazing.

Charles Coleman  16:47 

Yeah. So, yeah, so basically, yeah. So, you know, I just decided to take a leap and in the work and it really worked out for everyone.

Interior of Facets’ DVD release of The Decalogue

Emma Greenleaf  17:01 

Did that change the way you approached acquiring films from then on?

Charles Coleman  17:08 

No, not necessarily. I mean, it was my biggest risk to date. But, I mean, I hadn’t really thought about that, but I had done some other projects that required like a personal stress test. That was a lot had to do with trying to put together an ambitious program and then just waiting to get the result back.

I mean I can give you an example, there’s an Italian filmmaker I always admired, Francesco Rosi. And Cinecittà in Rome had the rights to his films. So, I not only had to negotiate that, but there was this process I found out about it was called Softitler. And Softitler is, you have a film print, and you can watch a film that had not been embossed with any subtitles.

What happens is you have a computer attached to the projector and you put a second screen that’s that is horizontal on your main screen. And then the film frame goes to the projector 24 frames per second. You time the subtitles in the computer to match the image on the screen where you see any subtitles on the screen. And since the print remains totally virgin, all you have to do is switch out different languages. So, you can show that same print in Japan with Japanese subtitles or Spain. But here’s what was the challenging now it was a challenge for me to deal with the Cinecittà that I mean there a cultural institution in Rome, they basically don’t necessarily meet a demand. So, I had to wait for them to respond to me and that took like a long time. But what they didn’t tell me was they had to Softitle the program. So, the prints are on their way. And, and I get this email saying, did you contact the company Softitler. And I said, “what’s Softitler?”

And then I was like, “You didn’t tell me this.” So, I wound up having to find the founder of Softitler whose name was Francesco, and I couldn’t show the films unless the program was attached. So, you know, I wrote him all these letters and he came in on his own to Chicago. Turns out, he knew somebody that lived here. At his own expense, he came to Chicago. The prints came, he set up the screen. And he stayed here for three days to make sure that the program would work. And so, we saw all these, these Francesco Rosi, films that were pristine prints with this Softitler process with the subtitles under the screen, he was in the booth for the first few days of the program, to make sure the operation was seamless. And if he hadn’t shown that kind of kindness … and Cinecittà, they didn’t care. They hadn’t informed me about this earlier. Because otherwise we would have done this in parallel. Now with that said, I got these prints.

And so I will try to figure out who I can contact this company but Francesco couldn’t have been a nicer individual and he didn’t see this massive imposition that I thought it was. … That was actually an interesting project. And the films were shown here for about three weeks.

And then on another occasion, I did a Bernardo Bertolucci retrospective, also from Cinecittà. But I found a collector that had his own print of The Conformist which was one of Bertolucci’s, classic films. He had extra footage that had not been seen in the United States in a release print.

Emma Greenleaf  21:38 

Oh wow!

Cinecittà studios in Rome.

Charles Coleman  21:58 

So I showed, I showed that then I got a collector’s print of a movie called Point Blank by John Boorman with Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson. And it was just … I had to get a collector to loan me that print, but we have to make sure that we’re doing frame count. So we had to make sure that the print was clean between screenings and we couldn’t lose anything from this film, and I also found a copy of The Big Sleep. That had footage that had not been seen when it was originally shown in the 50s, and this is from another collector.

And so, I was doing these kinds of things before, but I did feel emboldened after The Decalogue to be more persistent. But it came from a total reverence for people to have an opportunity to see these great films. As opposed to being a matter of a personal exercise to show I could accomplish.

And you know I also did things like…. I remember showing a month of Marcello Mastroianni films. And the curious thing about that was, I had so many rare films because Mastroianni had an extraordinary career, but the public wanted to only see the movies that he’s already known for. As opposed to the rare films, which have not been back.

And then they’ll also do a month of films for Louis Malle, who used to do work with Jacques Cousteau before he became an independent filmmaker, I was able to get this documentary footage where he worked with Cousteau. And then there was a Korean filmmaker named Kwak Kyung-taek, and I got him to come in from Seoul. And I showed his films. And then also did a project with the director Peter Greenaway. And he had a trilogy called Tulse Luper films, which is a trilogy based on a man living his life as a professional prisoner. And Peter Greenaway came here in person. And I had to spend a few days with him and then he did an unbelievably, very admirable discussion with the audience about his work.

Emma Greenleaf  24:58 

Wow.

Charles Coleman  24:59 

 So yeah, I’ve done things like that. And so, showing The Decalogue was just something that … I had done these kinds of things before, but I decided to just, you know, rededicate myself. And then at that point, Facets actually had considerable capital. So, I was able to, you know, underwrite the shipping costs and all the fees of exchange.

And also, I had another project that I did every year for, like 10 years, which is this festival of New French Cinema, which was a week-long project that was the first week of December. And these were my criteria: it had to be new filmmakers native to France, they could have done no more than three films. Because that point, I declared them to be veterans. And that was co-sponsored by the French consulate. But I did all the work for it and also refused to let them change the criteria. And because they, you know, they thought “why can’t we show this other film where it might be after the third film.” I said, “no, we’re gonna stick with what we agreed to.” And the cool thing about it was that most of the films hadn’t opened in Paris, so I’ll have to make reports. After films are shown here in Chicago, but how well received was in Chicago and filmmakers would come to Chicago to discuss their films and a lot of them were really happy because this might be their debut film. And France is not unusual for people who are established and recognized actors to work with new filmmakers. So, people are not denied to see famous actors like Nathalie Baye and Gérard Depardieu, people like that in these films, so it would just be from a filmmaker you hadn’t heard from before.

And a few other filmmakers went on to have celebrated careers, not because of my festival. … I was very pleased that they became successful later, but it was just interesting that you can, you have to have like a standard of taste. And you want to make sure that what you program is worth somebody’s time. So, I took this curatorial responsibility, you know, really seriously?

Emma Greenleaf  28:08 

Yeah.

Charles Coleman  28:11 

I also used to do a Lithuanian retrospective. I called it … it was a Lithuanian film festival called “Traditions and Transitions.” And that was from the idea that Lithuania had also been occupied by a Russian invasion. And they had a pretty rich history. And so when I was talking to the Consul General, the cultural attaché, at the Lithuanian consulate, I said, “well, we should call it ‘Traditions and Transitions’ because that way, you can talk about what you did in the past and you can see what you’re doing in the future.”

The Consul General, the cultural attaché, at the time whose name was Arvydas, and we had to have his help to have them going through the archives and find these fantastic films as almost like an archaeological expedition. And it was also able to showcase the films that were being made in the present. And that was a clear case of the target group been so dedicated to supporting their particular cinema. … The shows sold out, by mostly Lithuanians but other people could attend it as well. And Lithuanian radio broadcast in Lithuanian TV stations. So yeah, that was a great project. The only reason it ended is because the cultural attaché was reassigned to another country, then his successor didn’t show this kind of interest in cinema.

So yeah, so that’s all those things happen. Because sometimes it’s nice if you can get some cooperation from the group for which you’re trying to make your appeals. But sometimes it works out sometimes it doesn’t. But like if I do any French films, you know, the consulate in Allianz Française are not as behind as I would like, but I will still go forward. Same thing with the Italian Culture Institute or then the Instituto Cervantes for Spanish films. But if they help, that’s great if they don’t, I’m still going to do what I can. The main problem is financial wherewithal and cooperation but, but those are certainly some of the projects that I was able to engage upon. And that’s kind of a legacy I’ve been trying to maintain ever since.

Emma Greenleaf  31:07 

Why do you think The Decalogue was a film that hit so big with audiences?

Charles Coleman  31:13 

Well, sometimes people hear echoes of certain things because I remember one time, I had a members-only screening of Godard’s film Contempt. starring Michel Piccoli who just passed recently, and also Brigitte Bardot. Directed by Jean-Luc Godard. And I mean the members-only screenings are relatively successful but that one when it was presented at Facets, I did a Q&A afterward, the entire thing sold out because it was one of those films that people have heard about I always meant to say that people who saw it but probably saw it a long time ago. And the film actually had a big reputation because Brigitte Bardot at that point in her career was talked about more than Charles de Gaulle.

And so, it was one of those films that people were always keen on seeing, and this is like a great opportunity. So, they responded accordingly. And The Decalogue had been in that category and that situation on which, you know, there had been whispers in the Great Hall. People had heard about it but didn’t know anything specific. And so, once it was at Facets, like I said, the publicity was explosive. So, people … it was everywhere as in the Tribune it was in the Reader, which back then had a substantial page on covering what was playing in Chicago. It was in the Sun-Times. And Roger Ebert wrote about it. And then it sounded like something people might want to see. Like, “what is The Decalogue?” I mean, it had that appeal.

Emma Greenleaf  33:29 

Very intriguing, yeah.

Charles Coleman  33:30 

Very intriguing. Because, you know, sometimes you’ll see a film title. I’m always wondering, why don’t people go because of the title. I mean, like, I’m showing the movie called The Wolf House. Don’t you want to see that?

Emma Greenleaf  33:44 

Oh, yeah, I did see it, and I loved it!

Charles Coleman  33:45 

It’s about a Wolf House!

So um, yeah. So, The Decalogue, and then people heard about the structure. And they thought, “how can you adapt the 10 Commandments and do it in one hour for each for each Commandment?” And then and then the other fantastic aspect of it was, Kieślowski and his screenwriter came up with contemporary ways to realize a particular Commandment. And it wasn’t like the Cecil B. DeMille illustration. It was something that was secular, but it was the adaptation was inspired. And then afterwards you could think, “which one was that?” And then you realize “oh, that was that Commandment!” which you don’t think about at the time. And then on repeat viewings, there’s other aspects of the of The Decalogue that were there the whole time. Like there’s a mysterious figure that shows up, who was supposed to symbolize The Every Man, making an appearance in the series. Then the way the cinematography looked, and they’re all shot the same location. In this tenement complex, so people could identify with familiar aspects of it. And the whole thing was immersive. I mean, it was one of the few cases, well, I shouldn’t say a few cases, but let’s just say it’s a legitimate case of having an absolute rewarding experience if you sat down and watched all 10 at once. Which you don’t have to do. And the other thing is you can watch them any sequence. I mean, you can watch a one through 10 or you could watch it in any order you want.

Now two of the films, Kieślowski  thought could be made more expansive. So, he took Decalogue six and seven and one was based on “thou shall not commit adultery” and the other was based on “thou shall not kill” and they turned them into A Short Film About Love and A Short Film About Killing. And those were feature films. But they can be seen as stand-alones. But they’re not the same as seeing the hour-long original versions.

Still from A Short Film About Love (1988)

Now he chose those two aspects because he thought he could delve further into the material for those particular Commandments. But once again, if you see those two films, you think about it later if you want to make the external reference, but it’s not required. Well, he was so insistent upon because he didn’t want the Commandments that were brought to the screen to justify the existence … of each individual film. You just watch it for what it is and then you want to have some kind of anecdotal aspect to define which one that’s up to you. But you shouldn’t have to do any homework and know which Commandment it is to feel and experience by watching something that he was trying to bring to the screen.

And the very fact that this is shot for TV. I mean, that’s the other thing, because that is part of what said the famous British playwright that people should not be concerned about the role TV plays in our lives, people just have to make better choices about what to watch. So, he is so fundamentally just writing better for TV. And then people have a better experience because it’s not going to go away.

And so, The Decalogue is a case in point. It’s an excellent way to watch excellent TV. And also happens to be an enlightening cinematic experience as well, which probably surprised Kieślowski , because he did it as an assignment. And then he turned it into a masterpiece.

Emma Greenleaf  38:17 

That’s so yeah, that’s so interesting.

Charles Coleman  38:20  

So yeah, that was so you know, so that’s a classic case of just doing something and then becoming recognized afterwards. Like you don’t seek acclaim. You just do the best you can. Excellence is a matter of habit. So, you just do what you can and then hopefully the results will follow to justify your original interest.

But I don’t define what I’m doing by how people feel about it because I’m actually more preoccupied and impressed with the filmmakers in general. Because they didn’t make these films to seek undeserved attention. I mean, if their work is discovered to be of value and of significance, that’s not something you can calculate. And understand, I was always proud that Facets has been the means by which that work can be seen. Because you could certainly write a book, but if it’s not published, who’s going to know about it? And I’m showing films and having to choose. I think Facets serves an important role to have those works seen, because otherwise they will remain an idea. And now that idea has gotten the exposure that they deserve.

And I’m willing to work as hard as I can to make that happen. What they call a “fulfillment cost.” It’s one I’m willing to pay. And I’m determined to maintain an accessible but high standard. Both in the brick and mortar world, as well as what we call the virtual one.

Emma Greenleaf    40:35

Thank you so much for listening to that story of a pivotal moment in Facets’ history. To find out what we have in store for the future, go to facets.org.

Facets Turns 45: This post is part of our special 45^th Anniversary series where we look back at exciting moments in Facets’ history. Read part one here, part two here, and submit your own favorite Facets moments here.

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