Three Colors: Blue (1993)

A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario), Krzysztof Piesiewicz (scenario)

Stars:

Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 20 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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 (Mari de Julie)
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

Storyline

The first part of Kieslowski's trilogy on France's national motto: Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity. 'Blue' is the story of Julie who loses her husband, an acclaimed 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 or love. She intends to numb herself by withdrawing from the world and living completely independently, anonymously and in solitude in the Parisian metropolis. Despite her intentions, people from her former and present life intrude with their own needs. However, the reality created by the people who need and care about her, a surprising discovery and the music around which the film revolves heal Julie and draws her back to the land of the living.

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Plot Keywords:

liberty | first part of trilogy | trauma | telling a joke | mourning | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Mystery | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite

Country:

France Poland Switzerland

Language:

French Romanian Polish

Release Date:

8 September 1993 (France)

Also Known As:

Three Colors: Blue

Filming Locations:

Piscine Pontoise - 19 Rue de Pontoise, Paris 5, Paris, France

Box Office

Gross USA:

$1,324,974

Company Credits

Production Co:

MK2 Productions, CED Productions, France 3 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Olivier has tracked down Julie but is then ignored by her, there is a close-up of Julie allowing a sugar cube to soak up her coffee. Deeming that the sugar cube had to soak up the coffee in precisely 5 seconds, Krzysztof Kieslowski had his assistant director test multiple brands (which soaked with coffee anywhere from 3 to 11 seconds) to find one that took just the correct time.

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Goofs

When Oliver tells Julie he will not incorporate her changes into the musical score, a boom mic is visible briefly as Julie puts down the phone.

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Quotes

Julie Vignon: Now I have only one thing left to do: nothing. I don't want any belongings, any memories. No friends, no love. Those are all traps.

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Crazy Credits

The final credit says in French, "We thank Alfa Romeo who allowed the scene of the accident to the Alfa 164 whose dynamics are of course purely imaginary."

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Connections

Referenced in L'enfer (2005)

User Reviews

A stunning film from one of the world's preeminent directors.

TROIS COLOURES: BLEU is a rich, dark film with all the Kieslowski marks: death, silence, depression, and the inner torment of outwardly attractive women. After seeing the whole trilogy and the DEKALOG, I'm convinced at Kieslowski's great talent, and his very early death was a true blow to world cinema. Much like Kubrick but with a less ironic nature, Kieslowski loves to make his characters and stories both humanely distant, realistic, and, at the same time, philosophically idealist and dense. I enjoyed BLEU more than BLANC (which was an odd machismic entry in a trilogy mainly focusing on women) but not as much as ROUGE, which I feel is one of the finest, most beautiful, most well-done films I've ever seen.

More specifically, BLEU's focus seems to be on the relationship of a woman's loss of the tactile manifestation of her husband's existance with the ligering notions of his life - especially his music, which pervades the entire film, interrupting at key moments with a blackout and short blast of the overture. To watch Julie struggle with her husband's abandoned secrets (including a mistress Julie befriends) is shattering, frustrating, and perplexing.

Unfortunately, life must move, and, due to that, I can't watch BLEU over and over. However, I did glean from one viewing the complexity of this picture, and recognize its need to be watched over and over, until Kieslowski's last gasps can be properly understood, which is all we can hope to return to a man whose genius was tragically cut short, but still stands as a giant in my view of cinema.