Of Elephants and Toothaches

This collection is the first to offer a genuinely interdisciplinary approach to Krzysztof Kielowskis Decalogue, a ten-film cycle of modern tales that touch on the ethical dilemmas of the Ten Commandments. The cycles deft handling of moral ambiguity and inventive technique established Kielowski as a major international director. Kielowski once said, Both the deep believer and the habitual skeptic experience toothaches in exactly the same way. Of Elephants and Toothaches takes seriously the range of thought, from theological to skeptical, condensed in the cycles quite human tales. Bringing together scholars of film, philosophy, literature, and several religions, the volume ranges from individual responsibility, to religion in modernity, to familial bonds, to human desire and material greed. It explores Kielowskis cycle as it relentlessly solicits an ethical response that stimulates both inner disquiet and interpersonal dialogue.