Three Colors: Red (1994)
"Trois couleurs: Rouge" (original title)

Final entry in a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns a model who discovers her neighbour is keen on invading people's privacy.

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz

Stars:

Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder

Top 250 #244 | Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 15 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Irène Jacob	...	Valentine (as Irene Jacob)
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Le juge
Frédérique Feder	...	Karin (as Frederique Feder)
Jean-Pierre Lorit	...	Auguste
Samuel Le Bihan	...	Le photographe (Photographer) (as Samuel Lebihan)
Marion Stalens	...	Le Vétérinaire (Veterinary surgeon)
Teco Celio	...	Le barman (Barman)
Bernard Escalon	...	Le disquaire (Record dealer)
Jean Schlegel	...	Le voisin (Neighbour)
Elzbieta Jasinska	...	La femme (Woman)
Paul Vermeulen	...	L'ami de Karin (Karen's friend)
Jean-Marie Daunas	...	Le gardien du théâtre (Theatre manager)
Roland Carey	...	Le trafiquant (Drug dealer)
Brigitte Raul
Leo Ramseyer

Storyline

Valentine is a young model living in Geneva. Because of a dog she ran over, she meets a retired judge who spies his neighbours' phone calls, not for money but to feed his cynicism. The film is the story of relationships between some human beings, Valentine and the judge, but also other people who may not be aware of the relationship they have with Valentine or/and the old judge. Redemption, forgiveness and compassion...

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Plot Keywords:

judge | model | dog | redemption | privacy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for a brief but strong sex scene

Details

Country:

France Switzerland Poland

Language:

French

Release Date:

December 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Red

Filming Locations:

Veyrier, Canton de Genève, Switzerland

Box Office

Gross:

$4,043,686 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MK2 Productions, France 3 Cinéma, CAB Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Juliette Binoche, Benoît Régent, Julie Delpy, Zbigniew Zamachowski:  the stars of Three Colors: Blue and Three Colors: White, make appearances at the end of this film.

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Goofs

A stage hand reflected in the window upon Valentine's first visit to the Judge's house.

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Quotes

The Judge: You think I'm a bastard?
Valentine: Yes.

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Connections

Follows Three Colors: Blue (1993)

User Reviews

Beautiful, mysterious, and unusual love story

One of my favorite films of all time. With beautiful cinematography and a story that ties the previous Kieslowski films ("Blue" and "White") together. The film introduces us to Valentine (played by the glowingly real Irene Jacob), a beautiful and innocent Swiss model and student, who at first glance seems to be happy until one night she accidentally runs over a dog. The dog belongs to a retired old Judge who finds fulfillment in listening to his neighbors telephone calls via wavelength radio. Valentine is at first disgusted and pities him in his own self-pity and despair. But as the Judge and Valentine get to know one another a strange, but fateful bond begins to form. As a subplot, a handsome young Judge named Auguste (who lives across the street from Valentine) has experiences that are exactly like those of the Old Judge! Experiences that will soon lead Auguste into Valentine and into a reunion with characters from the French flag colors trilogy.

I loved the love story withing a love story plot and the mystery that resolves the characters that eventually fate takes a hand and lead them to each other. Irene Jacob is absolutely lovely in the role of Valentine. Her large brown eyes seem to echo this innocence and curiosity that is both passionate and touching. It's a film that asks us to watch out for the signs that will soon lead us to our destinies. A very intriguing film and a movie lover's dream.