A story of love, grief, and the music that connects it, and it's definitely blue, too.
Then another story of pride, joy, and the lives and loves that connect it, and it’s white.
Then another story of loneliness, destiny, and the means that connect it, and it’s red.
Shuffling my watchlist on Letterboxd has been my saving grace of indecisiveness that plagues my cinephilic brain. As of this entry, I want to watch 926 films, so it’s just a bit difficult to pinpoint what I’m craving for my next watch.
When I shuffled Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours French trilogy, I took it as a sign. This summer, I hope to tackle many franchises and trilogies, from Rocky to Lord of the Rings to The Godfather and so on. I’ve started a few trilogies, halting after Fellowship of the Ring and Before Sunrise (which stars Julie Delpy, the co-star of White. Destiny, I guess), but to no subsequent avail, so Blue, White, and Red was a definitive start to actually! following! through!
What follows are my initial commentaries from Letterboxd reviews, in addition to takes on the trilogy as a whole.
(Victo Ngai went insane with these posters. CHECK THEM OUT!!!!)
Three Colours: Blue
A very promising start to this trilogy’s viewing. I chose not to read into synopses and such before watching, and no regrets as always. I’m truly just trying to be better at being okay with not knowing every inner working of a film before I watch it. Now, being said, I had no idea about any sort of tragedy to which the film is wholly revolved around, so a shocking sense of heartbreak was imminent in the first FIVE minutes of viewing.
An incredibly human character study of realizing the significance of people and the minute to monumental impact we may place in fleeting or lifelong encounters. My Chocolat queen Juliette Binoche is a delight to watch as always. An affogato everyday at a cafe would be my ideal grieving routine as well.
It should go without saying about a film named after the most somber of colors that it’s visually awe-striking, beyond even. There are simply unforgettable shots, blue or not, with a powerful score and subliminally seductive sound design coinciding it. Music is integral to the characters and the story as a whole, and was one of the main elements that kept my attention entirely attached while I watched. The cinematography does well in reflecting Julie's (Binoche) journey as her conscience ebbs and flows in battling grief and recovering her ability to connect with humanity. “If I have not love, I am nothing.” What a string of words, just wow!
I was completely enthralled from beginning to end. It doesn't ask too much of you, and a length of just beyond 90 minutes surely helps for those with minimal patience with an incessant need for media (it wasn’t the best week for yours truly). I’m looking forward to the rest, and stay tuned.
Three Colours: White
Blue was better, just to get that out right off the bat. The narrative is weaker (just more silly and less powerful than its prior’s plot), pacing is iffy (I don’t believe this should be happening if you’re doing a 90 minute film), and though I understand the purpose in the white motif, it's harder to be as blatantly obvious as blue and red and it shows. One of the final scenes being in a red bed as some sort of foreshadowing was sick, though.
They tried with the all-encompassing Poland snow and a marble statue, but overall it revolves around a wedding. Billy Idol might even call it a…white wedding. Sorry, I cringed as I wrote it, but the association is burned to my psyche and had to be expelled somehow.
Ah, Julie Delpy. The star of another trilogy I watched the first of then didn't finish. Sorry queen, this film definitely got me fiending to go back to it, though.
Blue is grief. White is love. Red..TBD. It’s a bit more Polish than French, considering the integrity of the trilogy is the order of France's flag's colors. It’s a bit more sad-sacky than grief-stricken. A bit more petty than jealous. Onto the next.
Three Colours: Red
A seductive and sweet ending to a hell of a trilogy!!!
Yet another narrative about the dysfunctions of love, finding a friend amidst profound loneliness, and though there isn't any explicit overlap between the other two until the very end, I felt connected to the world of these characters in such sentimental ways as I ventured through this final story.
Blue starts it out so strong, then a mid middle with White, then a steady incline back to fervent admiration with Red. Deciphering what this one "meant" was harder, tossing up BLOOD, BIRTH, PEACE, VANITY, FEAR, or JUDGMENT. Judgment seems the most on-brand since the justice system also seems to be a common theme amongst the trio, but individually, the others hold great significance to the narrative.
This pacing was a lot better, still holding some stale spots, but not enough for me to have to check the time save for a few times. The dynamics were more provocative, but the character development gets blurry at points to where I didn't quite know who I liked or not. Obviously, my most consistent favorite character was Rita the German Shepherd, she can do no wrong considering she took one for the team and is the sole reason for Valentine’s story to begin. It’s easy on the eyes, a given considering red is just so vibrant and impossible to ignore, but so beautiful, and I do want every person's apartment in this due to their rouge accents and piling bookshelves. Naming the main character Valentine is so pleasantly campy, I just can’t be mad at it.
My ranks for pretty much the foreseeable future are Blue, Red, White, bearing more resemblance to the flags of Cambodia or Iceland, no elaboration desired. Any other order than its intended release is blasphemous to cinematic consistency, but my personal ranks won’t be shifted.
Common themes that I picked up on:
-The significance of a friend, or just a person to jumpstart your narrative. In Blue, it's Lucille. In White, it's Mikołaj. In Red, it’s Joseph. There’s a consistency of a need for companionship, but an equal amount of ignorance to how needed it may be to the character’s perspective and well-being. There’s also at least one dynamic in each film where you question the character’s morality or overall taste in people in general, but it’s really just humanizing when you realize someone in your life or even you have that person that you just know isn’t “good” for you.
-The intentionality with the separation of acts is just very awesome and French film-esque to me. Not every film needs to cut to the next scene when black-screening really emulates more of a theatre aspect to the storytelling style.
-The overlap is fun. It’s not trying to be too convoluted, but a mere passerby speaks volumes of how simple it is to be intertwined with such complex stories.
-Old people recycling. No one helping them until Red. Understand the significance or not, it was beautiful.
I don’t wish to put up any sort of front, but I felt pretty big-headed after finishing a Criterion-acclaimed French trilogy. It really inflates my “film bro” ego watching pretentious pieces like this, but I’m glad it was at least pretty good while I was at it. Another trio to contribute to the hot-headed cinephile roundtables I hope to contribute to in the future. The ignorance of subtitled boundaries plagues the masses, as you are only hindering yourself from the mastery of storytelling. Upon winning Best International Feature, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture, renowned Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho delivered his acceptance speeches primarily in his native language, to which he famously said “Once you overcome the one-inch tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.” He also made his Oscars kiss like kids playing with Barbies. What a guy. Take a moment to appreciate a foreign film, authentically reading subtitles or even taking an easy way out with English dubbing. You might just encounter your next favorite film.
Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy is currently on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel. Merci d'avoir lu (thanks for reading)!
Cheers,
Mo.
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