Trzy kolory: Bialy (1994)

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

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

Release Date:

18 February 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

Second of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society shows a man dealing with a Polish immigrant whose wife wants to divorce him because he can't perform in bed.

Plot Keywords:

Polish | Marriage | French | Divorce | Equality

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Zbigniew Zamachowski	...	Karol Karol
Julie Delpy	...	Dominique
Janusz Gajos	...	Mikolaj
Jerzy Stuhr	...	Jurek
Aleksander Bardini	...	Le notaire (The Lawyer)
Grzegorz Warchol	...	L'elégant (The Elegant Man)
Cezary Harasimowicz	...	L'inspecteur (The Inspector)
Jerzy Nowak	...	La vieux payson (The Old Farmer)
Jerzy Trela	...	Monsieur Bronek
Cezary Pazura	...	Le propriétaire du bureau de change (Bureau de Change Proprietor)
Michel Lisowski	...	L'interprète (The Interpreter)
Philippe Morier-Genoud	...	Le juge (The Judge) (as Philippe Morier Genoud)
Piotr Machalica	...	L'homme de haute taille (The Tall Man)
Francis Coffinet	...	L'employé de banque (The Bank Employee)
Barbara Dziekan	...	La caissière (The Cashier)

Also Known As:

Three Colours: White (Canada: English title) (UK)
Three Colors: White (USA)
Trois couleurs: Blanc (France)
Trzy kolory: Biały (Poland)
White

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality and language.

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

France | Poland | Switzerland

Language:

Polish | French | Russian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14 (New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 (2009) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

MK2 Productions

Trivia:

Juliette Binoche and Florence Pernel, stars of Kieslowski's Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993), make cameo appearances in this film.

Quotes:

Karol Karol: [to the man who wanted help committing suicide] That was a blank. The next one's real. Are you sure?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Wielkie rzeczy: Gra (2000) (TV)

Least favorite of the three, but doesn't stop it from being genius!

This is the second installment in probably the best trilogy ever created. Though this one is not as strong as its predecessor, it does offer a unique and stylistic way of looking at life. It's a dark comedy about acceptance, love and betrayal. Can one man really start over in a new place? Can he heal from the pain that his wife caused him? Like in "Blue", it questions such things but does not mention it as much as it visually suggests it. And while it's not as powerful or complex as "Blue", it does play as a very unique and flowing transition between the two more dominant and relevant films.

"White" is a story about a man named Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a professional Polish hair-cutter who marries a young and beautiful French woman. He moves to France to live with her, and not long after, she divorces him because he's unable to have sex. He then again leaves France in an attempt to start a new life and win Dominique's (Julie Delpy) heart back. While on his journey though, he gets incredibly lucky and becomes wealthy, then pretends he's dead and waits for Dominique to come in order for him to see if she still loves him.

This is of course a perfect plot for comedy and it makes a lot of room for silly, slapstick jokes. Kieslowski wants to emphasize on the philosophical aspect of the movie just as much as the comedy. He chooses element that represent freedom and life (the statue of the woman that reminds Karol of Dominique), and the post-communistic lifestyle of a born communist. There is both a lighthearted and a more dark, sinister quality about "White". It's a typical 'you love me so you can't forget me' film, but does not play out in your conventional clichéd way. And while this lighthearted moment is shown, a dark overtone is prevalent. For example, when Karol meets Mikolaj and tells him of his beautiful wife, he goes and voyeuristically points her out, only to find her in bed with another man. He calls her and tells her he loves her, but she puts the phone up to her mouth and moans as loud as she can.

I mention voyeurism because that is a very reoccurring theme in the movie. Even Julie from "Blue" acts like almost a spy as she walks into the courtroom while Karol and Dominique are privately settling their divorce. Kieslowski creates a very voyeuristic feel in the movie so that we as the audience feel like we are overlooking the lives of others. Unlike Hitchcock though, Kieslowski does this but does not make us feel guilty about it, since of course, we don't witness a murder!

In this second installment, "White" is a quiet reminder that you can have a great film without going too deep into the themes and symbolisms. I have to agree with most of the people that "White" is the weakest of the genre, but it is a tremendously genius transition movie, a sort of light presence in the other two more darker films.