I thought my tryst with MS had come to an end, till I read Patenik2’s recent review. The post triggered off a need to review one of my favorite films ever; Kieslowski’s Blue. Kieslowski’s isn’t everyone’s filmmaker. You either fall deeply for his cinematic genius, or you walk away sceptical. However, I was lured into the web almost immediately.
Blue is part of Kieslowski’s trilogy, TROIS COULEURS (Red and White being the others), and also the best of the three films. The three are built around the themes of liberty, equality, and fraternity (concepts that correspond with the three colors of the french flag).
In Blue, liberty is personified in Julie (played by Juliette Binoche) who wakes up in a hospital to realize that she has lost her musician husband and child in an accident. The rest of the film then focuses on her struggle to survive. The film mostly represents the emotion attached to the color; grief. Through the film, you see this emotion etched on Binoche’s face. She doesn’t weep or cry. Instead, she gradually retreats into a shell with her memories, emoting with every flicker and expression on her face.
The technical team of Krzysztof Kieslowski and Slawomir Idziak then do their bit, by filling the frame with the color Blue. Till the very end, you’re only mildly aware of the color, that doesn’t take over the film. It has the gentle presence of a strong character, who merely reinforces the theme. Julie’s struggle to survive and move on, is unmistakable. But artifacts from the past, such as her husband’s unfinished composition, make unwelcome appearances. Julie tries to dispose off the notes, in an attempt to dispose off her own emotions.
But eventually, she is left with no other alternative, but to face her passion for music, and her own psyche.
Despite Juliette Binoche’s brilliant performance, the star of the film is cinematographerSlawomir Idziak. He uses a lot of reflections through the film, each of them adding to Julie’s emotional state. However, in addition to Julie, her grief, and the cinematography, another key character in the movie is the music. All through the film, you hear a rise in the tempo of the music.
The music cuts correspond with the scene cuts, and this technique makes you sit up and take notice. The music is also perhaps the only factor representing the tumultous grief in Julie’s otherwise outwardly quiet life. Abstract, metaphoric, and brilliantly made, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone who prefers fast-paced, ’’slam-on-the-face’’ action. But again, if you think Black deserved to be nominated for the Oscars, you should watch this film and think again!