Blue is the first part of Kieslowski's trilogy very loosely
based on France's national motto: Liberty, Equality,
Fraternity. Blue, white, and red are the colors of
the French flag in left-to-right order, and the story of
each film is loosely based on one of the three political
ideals in the motto of the French Republic: liberty, equality,
fraternity. As with the treatment of the Ten Commandments
in The Decalogue, the illustration of these principles is
often ambiguous and ironic. As Kieslowski noted in an interview
with an Oxford University student newspaper, The words
[liberté, egalité, fraternité] are
French because the money [to fund the films] is French.
If the money had been of a different nationality we would
have titled the films differently, or they might have had
a different cultural connotation. But the films would probably
have been the same.
The trilogy are also interpreted respectively as an anti-tragedy,
an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance.
This is the story of Julie (Juliette Binoche) who loses
her husband, an acclaimed composer and her young daughter
in a car accident.
The film's theme of liberty is reflected in Julie's attempt
to start a new life free of personal commitments and belongings,
and even free of grief and love. She plans to commit a sort
of spiritual suicide by withdrawing from the world and living
alone and anonymously in Paris.
Despite her plans, characters from her former life, who
need her and care about her, intrude with their own needs.
She cannot escape one particular artifact from her husband's
life - his unfinished composition called Song for the
Unification of Europe. She disposes of his notes for
the piece, just as she tries to dispose of all her memories.
But the composition continues to insinuate itself into her
life.
Eventually she confronts the music as well as her own devastated
psyche, and is drawn back to the land of the living.
Blue was an international co-production between the French
companies CED Productions, Eurimages, France 3 Cinéma
and[MK2 Productions, the Swiss company CAB Productions and
the Polish company Studio Filmowe TOR.
Like the other films in the trilogy, Blue makes frequent
visual allusions to its title: numerous scenes are shot
with blue filters or blue lighting, and many objects are
blue. When Julie thinks about the musical score that she
has tried to destroy, blue light overwhelms the screen.
The film also includes several references to the colors
of the tricolor that inspired Kieslowski's trilogy: several
scenes are dominated by red light, and in one scene, children
dressed in white bathing suits with red floaters jump into
the blue swimming pool. Another scene features a link with
the next film in the trilogy: Julie is seen accidentally
entering a courtroom where Karol, the Polish main character
of White, is being divorced by Dominique, his estranged
French wife.
Music plays an intricate element of the plot in that it
ilustrates Julie's efforts to be isolated from everything
but cannot do it, such as music cannot be made with a single
note but through harmony with all others and how everyone
has (or represents) a different kind of music, such as the
union of Julie/Patrice had a special tone, which is quite
different and more raw with the union of Julie/Olivier.
A symbol common to the three films is that of an underlying
link or thing that keeps the protagonist linked to his/her
past, in the case of Blue, it is the lamp of blue beads
and a symbol seen throughout the film in the TV of people
falling (doing either sky diving or bungee jumping), the
director is careful in showing falls with no cords at the
beginning of the film but as the story develops the image
of cords becomes more and more apparent as a symbol of a
link to the past. In the case of White the item that links
Karol to his past is a 2 Fr. coin and a plaster bust that
he stole from an antique store in Paris. In the case of
Red the judge never closes or locks his doors and his fountain
pen, which stops working at a crucial point in the story.
Another recurring image related to the spirit of the film
is that of elderly people recycling bottles: In Three Colors:
Blue, an old woman in Paris is recycling bottles and Julie
does not notice her (in the spirit of freedom), in Three
Colors: White, an old man also in Paris is trying to recycle
a bottle but cannot reach the container and Karol looks
at him with a sinister grin on his face (in the spirit of
equality) and in Three Colors: Red an old woman cannot reach
the hole of the container and Valentine helps her (in the
spirit of solidarity).
Awards
- Venice Film Festival, 1993: Best Film and Juliette Binoche,
Best Actress, Best Cinematography: Slawomir Idziak
- Cesar Award, 1993: Best Actress: Juliette Binoche, Best
Sound, Best Film Editing
- Goya Awards (Spain's Academy Awards): Best European
Film
Three Colors: Blue (Bleu: Bande Originale Du Film) is the
soundtrack album to the award-winning film Three Colors:
Blue, with music composed by Zbigniew Preisner. The music
is performed by the Sinfonia Varsovia (Beata Rybotycka,
Elzbieta Towarnicka, Jacek Ostaszewski, Konrad Mastylo,
Silesian Filharmonic Choir, Sinfonia Varsovia, Wojciech
Michniewski - conductor)
- Song for the Unification of Europe (Patrice's Version)
5:13
- Van Den Budenmayer-Funeral Music (Winds) 2:02
- Julie-Glimpses of Burial 0:30
- Reprise-First Appearance 0:34
- The Battle of Carnival and Lent 0:56
- Reprise-Julie with Olivier 0:49
- Ellipsis 1 0:20
- First Flute 0:50
- Julie-In Her New Apartment 1:45
- Reprise-Julie on the Stairs 1:05
- Second Flute 1:16
- Ellipsis 2 0:20
- Van Den Budenmayer-Funeral Music (Organ) 1:59
- Van Den Budenmayer-Funeral Music (Full Orchestra)
1:47
- The Battle of Carnival and Lent II 0:42
- Reprise-Flute (Closing Credits Version) 2:19
- Ellipsis 3 0:22
- Olivier's Theme-Piano 0:36
- Olivier & Julie-Trial Composition 2:01
- Olivier's Theme-Finale 1:38
- Bolero-Trailer For 'Red' Film 1:08
- Song For The Unification Of Europe (Julie's Version)
(Film) 6:48
- Closing Credits 2:04
- Reprise-Organ 1:09
- Bolero-'Red' Film 1:28
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Genre: Drama
Year: 1993
Runtime: 100 min
Country: France
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writing credits:
Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario)
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (scenario)
Agnieszka Holland
...(scenario collaborator)
Edward Zebrowski
... (scenario collaborator)
Slawomir Idziak
... (scenario collaborator)
Produced by Marin Karmitz
Original Music: Zbigniew Preisner
Cinematography: Slawomir Idziak
Colour: Colour
Sound Mix: Dolby SR
Cast
Juliette Binoche - Julie Vignon
(de Courcy)
Benoît Régent - Olivier
Florence Pernel - Sandrine
Charlotte Véry - Lucille
Hélène Vincent - La
journaliste
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
Alain Ollivier - L'avocat
Isabelle Sadoyan - La servante
Pierre Forget - Le Jardinier
Piotr Jaxa - Photographer at funeral
Julie Delpy - Dominique
Philippe Manesse
Arno Chevrier
Idit Cebula
Stanislas Nordey
Jacques Disses
Michel Lisowski
Yves Penay
Philippe Morier-Genoud
Julie Gayet
Alain Decaux
Zbigniew Zamachowski - Karol Karol (avec
la participation de)
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