Decalogue

Well I'm about to finish watching the last three installments of Krzysztof Kieslowski's Decalogue. The film series was written and directed by Kieslowski and his frequent collaborator, Krzysztof Piesiewicz. The series was filmed in Poland during the eighties and is loosely organized around the theme of the Ten Commandments.

I first became interested in Kieslowski's work after seeing Three Colors: Blue, White, and Red. I remember the haunting music of Blue. It followed me on my trip to Paris later that year. I heard the music as I walked along the Rue Mouffetard, the street where Juliette Binoche's character lived in the film. I thought of the film White every time I rode on the Metro, and I couldn't help but think of the model in Red whenever I saw a large billboard or huge window display.

But what keeps me interested in Kieslowski films are the questions.

Why do we love? Why do we continue to love when our loved ones disappoint or hurt us? Do moral acts preserve us? Are we punished for immoral acts? (Or, in other words, does what goes around, come around?)

Hmmmm....

Time to start writing again

Well it's been a long time since I last wrote. I've been catching up on all my mystery series reading: V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton, Believing the Lie by Elizabeth George, and Breakdown by Sara Paretsky. In between I read the Hunger Games series, re-read some early Monk books by Anne Perry, and dipped into a few non-fiction books.

You'd think I'd have some profound insights to share. Or, at the very least, some comments or criticisms about the books. But I find that if I don't write about what I read, while I'm reading it, I don't know what I think about what I've read.

Perhaps that's why I've started reading Writing to Learn by William Zinsser. He says that the process of writing forces you to think. If your thinking is muddy, your writing will be unclear. You will need to revise and rewrite until your writing (and thinking) make sense!