Three Colors: Blue Review by Michael Carlisle

Title: The Three Colors: Blue
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Year: 1993
Country: France
Language: French

Krzysztof Kieslowski's first part of his Three Colors:Trilogy is arguably his best. Three Colors: Blue is a remarkable pro-living film that will make even the most suicidal of people re-think their thoughts about death and decide to exist among the living. Whenever I am depressed and want to feel better I watch either a Chaplin film or this. I first saw Blue when it was distributed by the Criterion Collection last year and I must have seen it a dozen or so times already.

Blue is the story of Julie (the beautiful Juliet Binoce) who loses her husband, an acclaimed European composer and her young daughter in a car accident. The film's theme of liberty is manifested in Julie's attempt to start life anew free of personal commitments, belongings grief and love. She intends liberate herself by spiritually commit suicide by withdrawing from the world and live completely independently, anonymously and in solitude in the Parisian metropolis. However, people intrude her life with their own needs and thus she begins to heal and liberate herself from the ideals of death and isolation.

Kieslowski bases the theme of each film in Three Colors Trilogy by the colours of the french flag. The three colours stand for liberty (blue), equality (white), and fraternity (red). Liberty, or freedom from the past, is a major theme in Blue. The colour blue is used regularly from beginning to end. The film starts with a shot of a candy-wrapper moving in the wind; it is colored blue on one side. The street, the car, and even the air seem to be tinted in a hue of blue. The last shot before the final montage is of the sparkling blue crystal lamp hanging above Julie's flat. Blue is used in every shot of the film. Kieslowski brilliantly uses the colour to create moods of melancholy and coldness. It also helps the audience remember Julie's emotional responses to certain objects and places.

Kieslowski is a master of details and camera shots. Not a shot is wasted as each show a great mood and therefore are important to the story. There are not too many close-up's on Juliet Binoche's face nor are there too little. A lesser filmmaker might exploit the emotion of the film by using hundreds of close-ups. Composer Zbigniew Preisner creates a memorable score that is incredibly important to the story and mood of the film. Kieslowski used the music as a window into the intensity of emotions running through Julie's head.

In conclusion, Three Colors: Blue is so great because the story is so relatable. So many people have had a life experience that they didn't feel like they could recover from. Anybody who has had a breakup has had the feeling of emptiness and withdrawal form the world, perhaps even suicidal thoughts. With this film Kieslowski makes an important note about loss and liberation. To liberate yourself is to not isolate yourself, but to live life as you normally would. Praise it! 5/5