Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario) and
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (scenario) ...

Release Date:

8 September 1993 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

First of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns how the wife of a composer deals with the death of her husband and child.

Plot Keywords:

Blue | Composer | Liberty | Car Accident | Suicide

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 13 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Julie Vignon (de Courcy)
Benoît Régent	...	Olivier (as Benoit Regent)
Florence Pernel	...	Sandrine
Charlotte Véry	...	Lucille (as Charlotte Very)
Hélène Vincent	...	La journaliste (as Helene Vincent)
Philippe Volter	...	L'agent immobilier
Claude Duneton	...	Le médecin
Hugues Quester	...	Patrice
Emmanuelle Riva	...	La mère
Florence Vignon	...	La copiste
Daniel Martin	...	Le voisin du dessous
Jacek Ostaszewski	...	Le flutiste
Catherine Therouenne	...	La voisine
Yann Trégouët	...	Antoine (as Yann Tregouet)
Alain Ollivier	...	L'avocat

Also Known As:

Three Colors: Blue (Canada: English title) (USA)
Three Colours: Blue (Canada: English title) (UK)
Bleu (France) (short title)
Blue
Trzy kolory: Niebieski (Poland)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | Poland | Switzerland

Language:

French | Romanian | Polish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14 (New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Cité du Midi, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Zbigniew Zamachowski and Julie Delpy, the stars of Kieslowski's Trzy kolory: Bialy (1994), make appearances in this film.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Julie mentions 'altos' as she describes the entrances of various instruments. The same word appears in the English subtitles as she speaks. The sound we hear, though, is not a group of female singers but a body of stringed instruments. In French the word 'alto' refers to a viola; the subtitle is a mistranslation.

Quotes:

Julie Vignon: Why are you crying?
La servante: Because you're not.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The League of Gentlemen: Love Comes to Royston Vasey (#1.5)" (1999)

Kieslowski: master of visual narrative.

Krzysztof Kieslowski is, unquestionably, the master of the visual narrative.

More-so than even La Double Vie de Veronique (which is much more poetic than linear in it's structure), Trois Couleurs: Bleu is a marvel of visual exposition. Due to the nature of the film, exposition in this case is not necessarily related to plot, but rather to the understanding of a human being.

Kieslowski delves so deeply into the true nature of Julie (Juliette Binoche) and in such a remarkable way that by the end of the film we understand her utterly. Free from the clutter of dialogue and, for the most part, interaction with other characters we see Julie alone and in her most natural state. Kieslowski takes his documentary background and conveys his character in an almost voyeuristic manner. Showing Julie in anything but a state of solitude would be false; due to human nature Julie with Oliver would not be Julie, but rather a reflection of her true self which, although certainly interesting, pales in comparison to observing her silently struggle with the death of her husband and daughter alone.

Kieslowski played with applying the documentary techniques, which he perfected in his early work, to the narrative form in The Dekalog with tremendous, although at times visually mundane, results. The Dekalog looks like a documentary. Here, he turns over much visual control to his Director of Photographer, Slawomir Idziak, with tremendously cinematic results. Idziak's use of color and light, combined with his groundbreaking filter work, serve to further explore Julie's character. Blue feels like a documentary and looks like a dismal Rembrandt. While Kieslowski concentrates on showing the true nature of Julie through action, Idziak contributes by showing her through light and color.

Trois Couleurs: Blue is an almost unmatched achievement in the history of cinema. Never before has a character been conveyed so splendidly and in such a visually stunning manner.