Original subtitles

DEKALOG: ONE

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11...

12...

13...

20...

21...

I couldn't do any more.

Dad!

Dad!

Think something up!

Kermit's fleeing from Miss Piggy...

on a sled at 62 k.p.h.

Miss Piggy's chasing him on skis at 87 k.p.h.

Got that? - How much later did she start?

Three minutes.

ENTER VALUES

Dad, I got it!

She'll catch him in ten minutes and 26 seconds.

Hi.

Come in!

Freezing out there?

If somebody died abroad...

would there be an announcement too?

Maybe.

You pay for them. If you pay, they'll print it.

Why do people die?

Different reasons. Heart failure, cancer...

accidents, old age.

What I mean is... what is death?

Death?

The heart stops pumping blood.

No blood reaches the brain.

Everything stops, comes to a halt.

And that's it.

What's left?

What a person did.

The memory of that... and of them.

The memory is important.

You remember that someone bounced when they walked,

or that they were a good person.

You remember their face,

their smile,

that they were missing a front tooth.

It's too early, Paweł

What do you want from me this early?

It went bad.

Yes, it did.

It says here...

“A service for the repose of her soul."

You didn't say anything about a soul.

It's just a way of speaking, of saying good-bye.

There's no soul.

Auntie says there is.

Some people find it easier to live

if they believe that.

Do you?

Me?

To tell the truth, I don't know.

What's on your mind? What's the matter?

Nothing.

It's just...

I was so happy this morning

when I worked out that problem...

when the pigeon ate the crumbs.

But on my way to the store I saw a dead dog.

I knelt by it and thought...

“What's it matter when Piggy catches up to Kermit?

What's any of it matter?”

What dog was it?

With the yellow eyes.

He always hung around the trash cans.

Such a poor little dog. You know?

Yes.

Maybe he's better off now, huh?

We're speaking with the principal of School 218.

You distribute milk to the children?

Yes, we have an arrangement with a dairy.

Every student gets a glass of milk during recess.

But the milk's disgusting. They flush it down the toilet.

No, we keep the bathrooms

locked during recess.

- What's that? - A guinea pig.

What for?

Biology. But the teacher wouldn't let me take it out.

Look how sharp its teeth are.

Paweł.

Once more!

What's for lunch?

Soup and a main dish. Okay? - Great!

I'm hungry.

A TV crew came to school today.

Why?

Something about milk.

They told us to run around. - And did you?

Sure!

- Want to take your bag home? - Yeah.

I've got something great to show you.

You see?

Go stand by the door.

- Which one? - The front door.

Okay.

Watch. It'll lock the door.

Did it lock? - Yes.

Now it'll unlock it.

It did.

Go in the bathroom.

But don't touch anything.

Watch the faucet.

WATER

I wrote a program myself.

Mom sent me her schedule, hour by hour.

I put it in memory, along with the time difference.

It's now 3:33.

MOM AT 3:33

I'M ASLEEP

She's sleeping.

Ask what she's dreaming.

WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT?

It doesn't know.

You know what Mommy's dreaming about?

Not really.

It's simple: you.

Me?

Of course.

I guess so.

What about Daddy?

I don't know.

- You know what he does? - More or less.

Oh God.

What?

I'm hungry-

Then let's go.

Too bad Dad won't let me use his computer.

It would know for sure what Mommy's dreaming about.

- Wanna race? - Sure.

- Want a head start? - Not today.

Start!

That was good.

Shall I do the dishes? - No, I'll do them.

I want to show you something.

Paweł come here.

Was this when you brought me that pink pencil case?

That's right.

I got the pictures today.

You know who that is?

Yes.

Is he a good man?

Yes.

Intelligent?

You think he knows...

what life is about?

I think so.

Dad told me we're alive to make things easier

for the people who come after us...

but that we don't always succeed.

He's right. We don't always succeed.

Living is...

the joy of being able to help others.

Of being there.

When you do something for someone, no matter how small,

you feel needed.

And life seems brighter.

It's big things and little things.

You enjoyed the dumplings, so I felt happy.

Life...

is a present.

A gift.

Tell me...

Dad's your brother, right?

You know he is.

You mean, why are we so different...

your father and I?

We grew up in a Catholic home.

Your dad noticed, when he was even younger than you are now,

that lots of things could be counted and measured.

He started believing that everything could be...

and he still does today.

I suspect he has doubts sometimes,

but he doesn't let on.

A life like your dad's may seem more reasonable,

but that doesn't mean there's no God.

Even for your dad.

Understand?

Not really.

God exists.

It's very simple...

if you believe.

Do you believe

that God exists?

Yes.

What is God?

What do you feel now?

I love you.

Exactly.

That's what God is.

Checkmate.

Now castle...

and check with the rook.

Too simple.

She's already won six games.

Seven!

Just watch. She'll defend with her queen,

and then we've got her.

Check.

See? She uses a system.

What now?

Now bishop...

and checkmate.

Checkmate.

Congratulations.

Thank you.

- Paweł? - Yes.

Did you talk to your dad?

- It's Auntie. - And?

She wants to know if it's okay with you.

- Irena? - Hi.

I enrolled him in religion classes. - Sure, if he wants.

As long as he feels he needs it.

- I spoke to the priest. - You did?

They're building a new church near you.

It's a young priest. I think Paweł will like him.

What about tomorrow?

No, I'm taking him with me tomorrow.

Bye.

You turned it on. - No, I didn't touch it.

Hey, pal.

What do you want?

Turn yourself off.

- What if it really wanted something? - Like what?

I don't know. But you asked it.

“Hey, pal, what do you want?”

I was just being silly.

It's 9.30. Go to sleep.

Are you going out?

I'll be back late. I left the light on.

Did you check the thermometer?

Yeah, it's 14 below.

You think Mom will call before Christmas?

I think so.

Group one: Jude, Judas, Judas tree.

Group two: undercurrent, undercut, undermine.

Group three: fraudulent, impotent, misstatement,

complacent, government.

These are associative fields.

But the word “underjudasment” -

no such word exists in Polish...

but we can easily figure it out.

The problem arises in translating it to another language.

It's extremely rare for a foreign language...

to truly feel as intimate as one's own language.

We can know a language very well on a rational level.

We can have involved discussions using an extensive vocabulary.

But here's the point:

How do you get to what's hidden deep

beneath the words and sounds and letters?

How do you discover the entire cultural heritage of a language?

How do you formulate its connections

to history, politics, culture, and everyday life?

How do you get to know

what makes up the soul of a language,

its metasemantics...

perhaps even its metaphysics?

Eliot said that poetry

was what could not be translated.

But was he necessarily right?

Imagine a translator

who has accumulated all there is to know

about words or language.

A translator with an unlimited memory

that can be tapped into at any moment.

Used in an unconventional way, a mathematical device

could be something - or someone - like that.

Consider such an instrument,

which can only distinguish between zero and one.

It has a sort of intelligence and also consciousness.

It selects between things,

which is an act of choosing...

perhaps even an act of will.

I believe...

that an appropriately programmed computer...

could have its own tastes...

aesthetic preferences...

and personality.

anyway- --

For our next class...

I'd like you to choose a line from any text

and play around with it

the way I did with my invented word.

I hope I'm not asking too much.

I am? Good!

See you soon.

Look! After just an hour!

Would tea freeze too? - Yes.

Feel it.

- Careful. It's glass. - Neat, huh?

Put it in the bathtub.

Let's leave it here and see what happens.

It'll just thaw when the weather warms up

or in the sun during the day.

Can we do the calculation now?

Yesterday you said “tomorrow." - Fine.

- On this one? - No, that one.

That one's not as good for calculations.

We can only assume freezing temperatures at night,

for about 10 hours.

And we have to be precise. - Okay.

Call the Meteorology Institute

and ask them the ground temperature

for today, yesterday, and the day before yesterday.

Is this the Meteorology Institute?

Could you give me today's ground temperature?

And yesterday's?

And for the day before?

Yes, here in Warsaw. Thank you.

- What's the formula for pressure? - P = F/s

Good. The temperatures?

Minus 11 today, minus 14.2 yesterday,

and minus 12.5 the day before.

It's been below zero for eight days.

DEPTH OF LAKE

Well?

MAXIMUM LOAD: 257 KG PER SQUARE CM.

It means someone three times your weight

could skate there safely.

Really?

Can I have them now?

What?

My Christmas present...

from you and Mom. - What is it?

I saw the ice skates!

- Where? - Under the couch.

May I?

- Do they fit? - They're fantastic!

Now get undressed and into bed.

I'm going out for a walk. I want you asleep when I get back.

You asleep?

No, I'm watching them shine.

I tested the ice.

I thought you would. That's why I couldn't sleep.

It's all right.

But promise to stay at least 15 meters away

from where the river enters the lake. It doesn't freeze there.

I promise.

It's shallow there,

but I don't want you getting all wet.

Where's your elephant?

He's asleep.

Is Paweł home?

No. Why?

I don't know. Mommy's asking.

Good evening. This is Ewa Jezierska.

Is Paweł home? Marek isn't home yet.

Ah, I didn't recognize your voice.

No, he's not home.

They should be at their English lesson. What time is it?

It's past 4:00. They should be back by now.

- They'll be back soon. - Something's happened.

What?

Something in the neighborhood. I'll go find them.

Jacek!

Jacek! - Wait! Your coat!

Wait!

Is Paweł here?

What is it?

I have the flu. I canceled their lesson and sent them home.

- When? - The moment they got here.

Where are they?

I don't know.

Take it easy. Come in.

She's sick. The boys aren't there.

- The ice broke on the pond. - Impossible.

It did.

Try to calm down.

It couldn't have.

It did. Please go see.

I'll be all right.

Have you seen Paweł?

Yes.

He told me a dream at school.

I mean now.

No. He was supposed to call me.

One... two... three... flour...

Paweł?

Irena? - Yes?

- Has Paweł called? - When?

- Now. Today. - About 2:00.

He couldn't come for lunch. He had an English lesson.

It was canceled.

So where is he?

I don't know.

Is anything wrong?

Some ink spilled, that's all.

What?

The bottle suddenly cracked and it all spilled out!

Bu! what about' Pa Wei?

I don't know.

It seems the ice on the pond broke.

He told me...

you two had calculated that it was strong enough.

It apparently broke.

I'm going to look for him.

I'll be right there.

Paweł, Paweł. Over.

Paweł, this is your father. Over.

Mom.

Mommy.

Jacek!

Where were you?

We were playing in the old car.

Come on. Let's go home!

Excuse me, sir.

Paweł was supposed to call me this afternoon.

You remember me? - Yes.

- That boy might know something. - What boy?

That little boy. Jacek.

Wait, please!

Paweł didn't play with us. He went skating on the pond.

He went skating on the pond! - Come inside!

Directed by

Cinematography by

Produced by

Music by

Art Direction by

Sound by

Edited by

Digital Restoration by