Kryzszstof Kieslowski said in an interview that Rita entering the church is the first important plot point of the film. Valentine follow her into the Catholic Church where a mass is underway. She rushes right into the middle of it, then apologizes and says she’s looking for her dog. Kieslowski said her apology indicates her public shyness, but that’s not how it comes across to me — being able to verbally interrupt a mass is a pretty bold action in any circumstance. Before anyone can say a word, Rita runs back out the door she came in, so Valentine follows.

We next see Valentine driving. She knows where Rita is going and her driving now follows the same path she took to Rita’s home the first time. She arrives at the house and rings the buzzer a at the gate — Rita immediately runs out. The judge follows closely behind her. Remarkably, just like the doctor in Dekalog 2, we never learn the judge’s name throughout the film.

The judge says to Valentine “call her, she’s yours.” After she does this, Rita does a hilarious quadruple take looking at Rita, then the judge, back to Rita, back to the judge. This little gesture leads Valentine to step forward towards Rita and the judge to step out from the house towards the dog and Valentine. Kieslowski says that this is the moment in the film where the judge and Valentine are brought together.

Something like this can be viewed as a cute sentimental trick, but this is not an unusual action for a canine. Rita is very attached to the judge, even if he is willing to give her away, and she is so keenly attuned to him that she has picked up the change in his weather pattern when Valentine is near. Remember how the judge declared that he has no daughter, but as Valentine leaves he looks out his window at her. Kieslowski has this beautiful tendency to show deep non-sexual tenderness between older men and younger women, something nearly every actress who worked with him said was a genuine part of his personality. Rita wants to bring the judge and Valentine together.

We next see some discussion of the money the judge sent for Rita’s vet visit — the judge sent too much — and they work out the proper repayment. The judge excuses himself to go inside so he pays the right exact fee. As he’s going, he repeats that she can do with Rita what she wants, that he wants nothing in this world anymore. Valentine suggests that maybe he should stop breathing, and he replies “good idea.”

We don’t know if this is sarcasm on his part, but Valentine gets concerned when he takes awhile to return. She peers through the same window he looked through in the earlier scene. Then she walks in and calls to him “have you stopped breathing?” She runs into him in his study. He’s listening to something … a conversation between two men. It’s an intimate conversation, sexual in nature. Valentine asks the judge “what are you doing?” He replies “eavesdropping.” He tells her that he’s listening in on a neighbor’s telephone call.

Valentine says “that’s disgusting.” The judge agrees and adds “it’s also illegal.” He points at a table beside her and says that her money is there. She picks up the 30 francs … as she takes the money, we see that it’s sitting on top of an album … it is a Van Den Budenmeyer album, the same one first shown in Dekalog 9. The judge tells Valentine that if she feels strongly she should go next door and tell them this eavesdropping is taking place and be sure to say that he’s the one responsible.

She takes him up on this challenge. We next see her at the home. A woman answers the door — Valentine asks to see the man of the house and the woman tells her that her husband is on the phone upstairs, please wait for him here. Valentine wanders a few steps and notices a young girl listening in on a phone conversation. The woman sees this too and tells her daughter to stop messing around, her father is on the phone. The girl seemed to be snickering at the conversation. Valentine becomes very embarrassed and declares that she is at the wrong house, please excuse her, and she leaves.

Valentine rushes out of the house. Like on her fashion walk, she trips slightly as she walks away. She heads to her car — the judge watching as she leaves.

This is the second encounter between Valentine and the judge, and not a terribly pleasant one. He seems like a strange, menacing character. But having been introduced to him, Valentine will feel a pull to stay connected to him, and this connection will allow their relationship to grow in unexpected ways.