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All reads, rates and r... er, comments greatly appreciated ... :-)
Hola!
All reads, rates and r... er, comments greatly appreciated ... :-)
Member since:29.03.2005
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"Now I have only one thing left to do: nothing. I don't want any belongings, any memories. No friends, no love. Those are all traps."
This is the resolution of Julie Vignon (Juliette Binoche), the central character of Three Colours: Blue. The survivor of a car crash which took the lives of her husband Patrice, a celebrated composer, and her young daughter, she desires nothing but to withdraw from life, cutting all ties and bonds that formerly surrounded her.
The creation of a Franco-Polish collaboration, and the last project of acclaimed director Krzysztof Kieslowski, the Three Colours trilogy (Blue being the first, White the second and Red the third) takes as its focus the three foundations of the French state; Liberté, égalité et fraternité. Reflecting also the French tricolore, Blue deals with an interpretation of Liberty, while Equality and Fraternity are examined in the following films. All three films are self-contained and tell independent stories, although there are threads which run through the trilogy and link up its constituent parts (Julie,
for instance, here walks by accident into a courtroom in which the divorce proceedings of the second film's main character are being heard).
Julie, then, devastated by the loss, but maintaining a restrained, almost passive visage, sells her home and belongings, cuts herself loose from her late husband's money and puts her mother into a care-home. Moving to a shabby apartment in a rough neighbourhood, she appears to find some solace in total detachment from those conventions of life that others might assume inescapable; friends, family, jobs and responsibilities.
Kieslowski's direction expertly conveys Julie's wounded state of mind, making her passivity and self-enforced isolation far more affecting than extremes of emotion and wild actions ever could be. Her mourning is expressed with some wonderful cinematic touches; on the occasions when she is forced to confront some strand of her former life, coming into contact with someone involved in it, the screen fades to black for a few seconds before returning and re-focusing. It's hard to know exactly what this is meant to express, but it gives the impression of a deep intake of breath, a mental steadying before Julie has to deal with the intrusions of life once more. Certainly, it's a distinctive touch that has a very visceral impact, affecting us even if we don't know why.
Musically, too, the film exhibits such flourishes. Making use of strong orchestral interludes and background pieces, Kieslowski also directs the emotions and underlines the experiences Julie goes through. This is a film almost totally concerned with character - the plot at its heart could be related in seconds, but is only the skeleton of Blue. The course our protagonist follows, into and out of despair, and the way she does it, makes up the flesh of the film.
Binoche is perfectly cast as Julie, managing to convey the storm that rages beneath her still exterior. Occasionally, this is shown through a quivering lip or the briefest flash of emotion, but for the most part, it is the implacable way in which Binoche holds herself, contrasting so sharply with our expectations of how grief is shown, that is so powerful.
Normally, I would make reference to other cast members (and, indeed, they do perform well here), but Blue is entirely Julie's story - we get under her skin, into her mindset on occasions, and she is almost never off-screen. This does create a very intense experience - Blue isn't a film to dip in and out of or have on in the background, but at just over an hour and a half, it moves at a good pace, and never drags.
Blue is the colour, and features recurringly in this film; from the lighting at the hospital, to the decoration Julie takes with her from one life to the next, to the swimming pool she routinely attends. The mood, too, is similarly in line with the title. This isn't an upbeat film, and if there's any criticism I would offer, it's that this is so persistent and pervasive. Even in the ending, which is in subject more optimistic, there is little light. The direction is as unforgiving and pensive as in the rest of the film - where I felt there was an opportunity for something a little more ... well, just happy, really. Perhaps it would have cheapened the undoubted effect the film has as a whole, but a change in mood would have been a nice point of contrast here.
The theme of liberty is not immediately apparent in Blue. We can, I suppose, see the film as the story of Julie's attempts to free herself from either grief or, more likely, the confines and expectations of life. For the most part, certainly, she is attempting to escape from and avoid life, even if she finds this to be much more difficult than she first anticipated. Blue is a striking film, and a greedy, attention-consuming experience - it sucks the viewer into Julie's troubled mind and plays with our senses and impressions with masterful usage of sound and visuals. It may leave you feeling a little blue, but it's worth the trip, and sets high expectations for the remaining Colours.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1997 - Drama - Director: Gillian Armstrong - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Cate Blanchett, Ciaran Hinds, Tom Wilkinson, Richard Roxburgh
The first instalment of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy on ... more
Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, the three colours of the French flag.Blueis the most sombre of the three, a movie dominated by feelings of grief. As the film begins, a...
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The first instalment of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy on ... more
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ideals of Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, is a land-mark of world cinema. Three Colours Blue was an immediate success, winning the top prizes at the 1993 Venice f...
Krzysztof Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy which explores the French Revolutionary ... more
ideals of Freedom Equality and Brotherhood are landmarks of world cinema. 'Three Colours Blue' was an immediate success winning the top prizes at the 1993 Venice f...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Three Colours Blue [DVD] [1993]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78537295.jpg "Three Colours Blue [DVD] [1993]")
Jul 1st, 2009
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