Three Colors: Blue
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| Trois Couleurs Bleu | |
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| Directed by | Krzysztof Kieślowski |
| Produced by | Marin Karmitz |
| Written by | Krzysztof Piesiewicz Krzysztof Kieślowski Agnieszka Holland Edward Zebrowski |
| Starring | Juliette Binoche Benoît Régent |
| Music by | Zbigniew Preisner |
| Cinematography | Sławomir Idziak |
| Editing by | Jacques Witta |
| Distributed by | Miramax (USA) |
| Release date(s) | January 10, 1993 |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Language | French |
| IMDb profile | |
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| Three Colors |
Three Colors: Blue (French: Trois Couleurs: Bleu) is a 1993 French film co-written, produced, and directed by the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Blue is the first in the Three Colors trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals; it is followed by White and Red.
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[edit] Synopsis
According to Kieślowski, the subject of the film is liberty, specifically emotional liberty, rather than its social or political meaning.[citation needed] It is set in Paris, where Julie, wife of the famous composer Patrice de Courcy, must cope with the death of her husband and daughter in an automobile accident she herself survives. While recovering in the hospital, Julie attempts suicide. For the remainder of the film, Julie devotes herself to mental suicide, disassociating herself from all past memories and distancing herself from former friendships. She destroys the notes for her late husband's last commissioned, though unfinished, work: a piece celebrating "the unity of Europe", commissioned by the Council of Europe. Despite her desires to shrink into nothingness, life in Paris forces Julie to confront certain elements of her past that she would rather not face. She falls in love with Olivier Benoit, her late husband's aide. She discovers her late husband was having an affair, and the woman, Sandrine, is carrying his child. As the film ends a question remains: will Julie complete the music that was, perhaps, always hers?
[edit] Style
Like the other films in the trilogy, Blue makes frequent visual allusions to its title: numerous scenes are shot with blue filters or blue lighting, and many objects are blue. Blue light creeps in around Julie at several points throughout the film, accompanied by the haunting musical theme around which the film revolves. The film also includes several references to the colors of the tricolor that inspired Kieślowski's trilogy: in one scene, children dressed in white bathing suits with red floaters jump into the blue swimming pool. Another scene features a link with the next film in the trilogy: Julie is seen accidentally entering a courtroom where the main Polish character of White is pleading his innocence.
[edit] Responses
Blue was admired by many critics. Marjorie Baumgarten of the Austin Chronicle said: "Blue is a movie that engages the mind, challenges the senses, implores a resolution, and tells, with aesthetic grace and formal elegance, a good story and a political allegory."[citation needed] Michael Hoshall of the Boulder Daily Camera said, "Juliette Binoche is luminous in her performance as a woman who comes to realize her genuine self-worth as a musician and human being."[citation needed]
[edit] Principal cast
- Juliette Binoche: Julie Vignon-de Courcy
- Benoît Régent: Olivier Benoit
- Charlotte Very: Lucille
- Emmanuelle Riva: Madame Vignon, Julie's mother
- Florence Pernel: Sandrine
- Guillaume De Tonquédec: Serge
[edit] Soundtrack
[edit] Awards
- Venice Film Festival, 1993: Best Film and Juliette Binoche, Best Actress, Best Cinematography: Sławomir Idziak
- Cesar Award, 1993: Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, Best Sound, Best Film Editing
- Goya Awards (Spain's Academy Awards): Best European Film
[edit] External links
- Three Colors: Blue at the Internet Movie Database
- Three Colors: Blue at Rotten Tomatoes
- Alternative Film Guide in depth review of Blue
| Preceded by The Story of Qiu Ju |
Golden Lion winner 1993 tied with Short Cuts |
Succeeded by Vive L'Amour tied with Before the Rain |
