Weekend Stories

If you're going to buy one multi-part miniseries produced for Polish television, it should be Krzysztof Kieslowski's masterpiece The Decalogue (also released by Facets), but larger world cinema collections would do well to consider this four-volume set of eight powerful stand-alone moral tales from Krzysztof Zanussi (each volume is also available separately for $24.95). In "A Woman's Business," a former Polish dissident has a chance years later to take violent revenge on the woman who informed on her. In "Little Faith," an idealistic scientist is urged by his wife to cash in on his charismatic good looks. In "The Last Circle," an aging ballet master has a bittersweet reunion with a former partner and lover. While many of the episodes deal with Poland's transition from Communism and a reassessment of that era, the underlying themes are universal. Recommended. (K. Lee Benson)