We watch a pigeon staring back at a boy through the window. The child is excited by the outputs provided by a machine his father has assembled. He walks back home and is overwhelmed with all the weight reality exerts on his thoughts and beliefs. He questions his father on his observations and what connections does man has with his soul. He is not able to understand everything, but the reasoning moves him. The father listens to himself and is left troubled after the conversation. He is obsessed with reason and removes all possibilities before facing any problem.
The question on belief hits center stage with the introduction of the aunt. The boy’s perceptions formed by these two opposite characters is childlike and malleable. The connection between the soul and unknown man in the beginning gradually surfaces. The boy is used as a transition not just through worlds, but also the dichotomy of idolization.
The ontological references in the film are closer to the Old Testament with a brutal God. The new God is perhaps the computer who lives at home and is more playful. He is hungry for problems to solve, is efficient, and reliable. Do we need a reachable God or a personal Jesus? Is technology our answer to everything in this world? What about being left alone during grief, depression, and the laziness that comes from living? This problem-solving machine begins to wear itself on the characters.
Kieslowski’s ambition is in showing us how we reflect the machine and straying from the irrational God. Kieslowski shows us that this God is eager to share our space and is envious of new Gods surfacing. It is a beautifully cruel testament of what we need to live with on a daily basis.
