User reviews

An accident results in loss and pain, the rejection of a world that you refrain, you seek withdrawal, isolation, segregation, separation, and transition to a life, where you abstain. But seclusion still has links and ties and cords, that retract and pull and cannot be ignored, reconnection through a box, reveals a secret that's unlocked, that begins to reconnect, and to restore.

It's a wonderful performance from Juliette Binoche as she elegantly weaves Kieslowski's tale of freedom into a contemporary setting. Packed full of symbolism that requires numerous visits to absorb, you may find a myriad of interpretations of your own too.

Blue is one of those little movies that grows on you. The more you think about it the more you like it. That's not to say that it's not enjoyable to view; the cinematography and music are marvelous. But this is Juliette Binoche's movie. Everything revolves around her character, Julie, who, in the first scene, survives an automobile accident that claims the lives of her famous composer husband and her five-year-old daughter. Now alone the remainder of the movie delves into Julie's long emotional recovery. Not traumatic, or depressing as the subject matter may imply it is instead subtle, graceful, and beautiful.

Instead of saying which is the best and worst (though have often heard 'Red' cited best and 'White' the weakest, though all three films are generally very highly thought of) of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colours" trilogy, it will just be said that all three films in the trilogy are must-watches in their own way.

The first film in the trilogy 'Three Colours: Blue' serves as a very poignant exploration of grief and liberty (in the emotional sense), and to me it is one of the most moving and interesting depictions of grief and liberty in film. It is heavily symbolic, with its intricate use of music, the dominant use of the colour blue in the colour palette, its interesting use of fade outs (though actually different to their usual use, representative of time standing still rather than it passing or a scene conclusion), links to the main character's past (here the use of falling) and the bottle recycling, but not in an incoherent sense.

Visually, 'Three Colours: Blue' looks stunning. The whole film is shot with aesthetic grace and elegance and while the use of blue is dominant for symbolic reasons it is never gimmicky or cheap. Kieslowski's direction is thoughtful and never intrusive, and the intricate music score and the symbolic way it's utilised (representing Julie's struggles with isolation) is inspired, "Song for the Unification of Europe" is one of the most emotional tracks of music in any film seen by me recently.

Story-wise, 'Three Colours: Blue' challenges in a way but also always engages, mainly because of how movingly and intensely it deals with the tragic story of Julie and its themes of grief and liberty. The pacing is deliberate but never hits a dull spot.

One of 'Three Colours: Blue' is the astonishing performance from Juliette Binoche, an intensely affecting portrayal that ranks high up with her best performances. All the cast are fine, particularly Benoît Régent and Emmanuelle Riva, but in the acting stakes this is Binoche's film.

All in all, a beautiful, thought-provoking and moving film, and a wonderful start for a very interesting trilogy of films. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Often times when viewing an intelligent film like this I have to really contemplate what the implications the film maker making mean to me. This film was no exception. Kieslowski, with his background in non-fiction film making, is applying the french political value of liberty to a personal situation. He is, in essence, studying the human condition through fiction. The meaning of "liberty" takes on a very different meaning for Julie in this film. She tries to gain liberty from her memories and her emotions only to find that it is an impossible task. This is not a film to casually throw on after supper. This film requires a commitment by the audience to really consider Kieslowski's implications, for he is telling us (throughout this trilogy) what he thinks makes a "good" person. The score is beautiful and has a character of its own in the plot. A must see for true film lovers but perhaps a little too much for someone expecting a casual encounter.

This movie is one of my favorites.

The disturbing topic of a woman who can't deal with the loss of her husband and child transforms into an essay on the impossibility of isolation. It is a quiet, personal movie that spends most of it's time with the main character played excellently by Juliette Binoche.

The color blue is very evident in the film,and a fade to a simple blue screen is used to show times of deep emotion. Although the characters are set in a specific time and place ( France just before the formation of the EU ) the focus on the personal journey of grief transcends the setting.

I like the way this film changes from a story about a death to an affirmation to life. I like the way that little things like mice in the apartment loom large in the thought of our main character, where as what others consider important such as finishing her husband's symphony seem very minor .

It feels like diving deep through cold dark water to finally swim toward the light. One passes through emotional turmoil to come out the other side. I found it a very satisfying.

Krzysztof Kieslowski is, unquestionably, the master of the visual narrative.

More-so than even La Double Vie de Veronique (which is much more poetic than linear in it's structure), Trois Couleurs: Bleu is a marvel of visual exposition. Due to the nature of the film, exposition in this case is not necessarily related to plot, but rather to the understanding of a human being.

Kieslowski delves so deeply into the true nature of Julie (Juliette Binoche) and in such a remarkable way that by the end of the film we understand her utterly. Free from the clutter of dialogue and, for the most part, interaction with other characters we see Julie alone and in her most natural state. Kieslowski takes his documentary background and conveys his character in an almost voyeuristic manner. Showing Julie in anything but a state of solitude would be false; due to human nature Julie with Oliver would not be Julie, but rather a reflection of her true self which, although certainly interesting, pales in comparison to observing her silently struggle with the death of her husband and daughter alone.

Kieslowski played with applying the documentary techniques, which he perfected in his early work, to the narrative form in The Dekalog with tremendous, although at times visually mundane, results. The Dekalog looks like a documentary. Here, he turns over much visual control to his Director of Photographer, Slawomir Idziak, with tremendously cinematic results. Idziak's use of color and light, combined with his groundbreaking filter work, serve to further explore Julie's character. Blue feels like a documentary and looks like a dismal Rembrandt. While Kieslowski concentrates on showing the true nature of Julie through action, Idziak contributes by showing her through light and color.

Trois Couleurs: Blue is an almost unmatched achievement in the history of cinema. Never before has a character been conveyed so splendidly and in such a visually stunning manner.

This is the first of Krzysztof Kieślowski's colors trilogy. Blue is Liberty. Julie de Courcy (Juliette Binoche) survives a car crash which killed her husband Patrice and her daughter. Patrice is a famous composer who was commissioned to produce a piece for European unity. Julie tries to commit suicide and then escape from the glare of her former life. She befriends exotic dancer Lucille. An old friend Olivier is also a composer and suspects the composition is actually Julie's. Patrice had a mistress. Julie has to break out of her darkness. Kieślowski uses everything including color, silence, music and most importantly Binoche infusing this with meaning. This is very much an art-house film and may not be for everyone. The quietness does lower the intensity. It's slow and meticulous. There isn't much of a plot. It's all about Julie's darkness and the reveal that can break through.

The subject(mourn,lost)is so interesting and profound that this film is a real treasure. It is very difficult to write about 'Bleu' because this film has so many intense scenes,with many details.Juliette Binoche's vulnerability is in every scene, every gesture, every moment. She plays an enigmatic woman,'Julie,' we're witness to her terrible loss(her husband who was a famous composer and her daughter died in a car crash)She is the survivor,not only of the accident,but of herself too.The film doesn't show us how her life was before the tragedy,but' Bleu' focuses on her personal journey to healing.

Julie seems stoic,she did not criy hysterically or stay in bed totally depressed,her grief is intimate and touching.In one scene when Julie is near the blue crystal mobile(which belonged to her daughter) just notice her reaction.Another poignant scene is when Julie is in that swimming pool,suddenly,she stops and she can hear her husband's symphony(all in her head).

Bleu also approaches a philosophical question-when you lose everything can you start all over again?,life is a series of events and choices,Julie moves to another place from the country to a city.She did not want to see her friends,she wants to be alone but is this possible?,her past will haunt her.

Another interesting aspect of this film is the use of music instead of dialogue,her silence is a reference of her terrible loss and pain,she is not depressed but sad. Also the meaning of the unfinished symphony of her husband is very profound (is connected with her grief and healing)

The photography of the film and the beautiful and delicate face of Binoche contribute to the impact of BLEU.

Kieslowski was one of the most talented directors, I really admired his 'Trois couleurs' trilogy but I think,'Bleu' was his most powerful film.

10/10

Julie Vignon - de Courcy, a young Frenchwoman (Juliette Binoche) is involved in an accident that will set her on a journey of self-discovery. We go along with her and imagine what we would have done.

This is a good film with a message. It is blurred by the attempt to introduce too many details that are trying to reflect ideas that could have been left out or explained straightforwardly. The lack of direct information and many of the modifications from the screenplay make this an average-rated film.

I believe that this film requires common knowledge of the writer and film general that I am not familiar with so the target audience may be restricted.

One plus is the Cinematography of Slawomir Idziak that will come to life in the film GATTACA (1997).

The film finally comes alive and what on the surface seems like a musical downer of a depressed person in a depressed world can come alive for us if we listen to the voice-over interpretation first. The version I have is the Criterion version, so I am not sure that other versions have the voice-over with Annette Insure.

The movie's narrative basically ends after the first ten minutes. There is practically no external conflict after that, except for the rather uninteresting point of will Juliete Binoche finish the score for the "Unification of Europe" song. To tell the truth, I really, really did not care one way or the other.

Without plot narrative, we're left with some quite striking cinematography, mainly shots of Juliete which should definitely be in a slick fashion magazine. There's some nice montage of images and sounds a la Godard or Bertolucci, but nothing very memorable except for a sugar cube dissolving and some baby mice. This leaves me in the distinct minority of those who found the film cold and boring. I realize that the director Krzysztof Kieslowski was dying of aids when he made this film, but I can't transfer my sympathy for him to the film. I haven't seen the other two films in the trilogy. I hope they are better.

I'm also upset with the false advertising on the DVD which calls the film "Mysterious and Sexy." There is no mystery here and one shot of Juliete Binoche's naked back and several shots of her swimming in a bathing suit hardly qualifies a film as sexy. Of course, if they had written the truth "Morbid and Pretty" who would buy it?

BLEU (TROIS COLEURS) / France/Poland 1993 (4 STARS) 23 January 2004: The thing that stands out most about Blue is the expression (or lack there of) of grief. How does a woman, seemingly fulfilled by happiness, react when that happiness is yanked away in one telling moment, in a car accident in which both her husband and her daughter pass away? That is the central understudy - a strong woman's attempts at finding purpose in the seeming absence of meaning. • Mise-en-scene: I watched an interview with Juliette Binoche, where she mentions that Kieslowski refused to make the film unless it had her in it. It's easy to see why. I can't imagine Bleu without Juliette – its not just that she lends her personality to the film…Bleu IS Binoche.

• I was thrown off by the sub-plots of the character's relationships with her mother and the striptease dancer, as I was about the seeming resolution at the end of the film. There were perhaps references that I missed but the ‘almost happy' ending left me feeling un-relinquished. Given that I had shared such an intense journey with Julie, it seemed almost improper to accept that she would settle in to a normal relationship again.

• Cinematography: The 1st shot of the film - that of a car tire racing - shot from the bottom of the moving car establishes this as ‘not your typical movie'. The sequence-of-shots that follow eerily draw one into the compelling story-telling style of Krzysztof Kieslowski, minimalist in its approach, with a world communicated without dialogue in the first five minutes of the film. • Blue is not your typical art-house film. Its production values are up there with the best, and the cinematography by Slavomir Idziak (who's craft was recognized by Hollywood in Black Hawk Down), is nothing short of stunning. • The lighting is low key and soft, and wraps around the characters to create a mood of subtlety. A distinguishing feature is the detail in the shadows. None of the close-ups fully illuminate the protagonist, almost hinting at her vulnerability at facing the light, though the delicate use of eye-lights does well to bring alive her emotions. • The camera, an intelligently used narrative element, interacts with Julie and partakes in her emotions, respecting them and yet accentuating their intensity as she plods on in an alien world of deep personal purposelessness. The tight close-ups penetrate her soul and force us to delve into Julie's mind and share in her agony. • Editing: deftly uses match on action to create irony while forwarding the narrative. • Sound: The pace is hauntingly slow and silence has been used compellingly. It screams with meaning as it is becomes one of the more important elements as the narrative progresses. Bleu is not a film you can watch, consume and move on. Either you'll feel that you've totally wasted your time and will probably not be able to sit through (the pivotal occurrence is over within the first five minutes of the film without a single world being spoken, and the rest of the film is essentially the protagonist's psychologically subjective journey) or you'll realize by the time you've reached the end that you'll revisit this film at various points in time, explore and read about it, discuss it with people you respect, and try to get closer to the essence of Kieslowski. For there are two now well-accepted truths about the folklore surrounding Kieslowski, whose reputation continues to mount posthumously…1. that Kieslowski carefully interwove elements that were rich with meaning and social irony, and 2. that figuring those elements out and appreciating their implications is probably a lifelong learning process.

This is one of the best movies I have ever seen. Not only for Juliette Binoche's excellent performance, but also for the delicate cinematography, the haunting music and the overall texture of immersion in the world of the young woman. If you are after car chases, exploding jets and gun-toting macho muscle-men, then stop reading now, this is not for you.

I enjoyed the other two films in the trilogy ("Three colours Red" and "Three Colours White"), but "...Blue" is easily the best. Kieslowski's movies are very different from the formulaic action movies that steer you firmly down a plotline, without giving the audience time to absorb any feeling. Without giving anything away, the story centres on the life of a young woman who experiences a great loss, and how everything changes, how she reacts, what happens next and much more. Music plays a central part in the plot and the scene where her finger traces the score as she shapes the symphony for Europe, is unforgettable. As you watch it you are lulled by the music yet also aware of the tension between her lover and her. Simply put, this film is subtle and moving, beautiful to watch, has a haunting musical soundtrack (I bought the CD as well, I have to say) and is never sentimental or cliched, not for a minute. There are little link scenes that join this movie with the other "Three colours..." movies - the storylines are separate but overlap.

If you liked this, see also "Three colours Red" and "The Unbearable lightness of Being". It's best on the big screen.

Carefully directed, with attention to both detail and colour, the film is amazing on a visual scope, but it is also powerful on an emotional scope with a number of very intense and moving scenes. It is a story of coping with grief, with characters fleshed out through facial expressions rather than words and actions, and Binoche is a fine choice for the lead. The intriguing music score and fade-to-black editing provide the film with an interesting sensation, in particular alongside the cinematography and lighting, used cleverly to keep things in and out of focus. Kieslowski also plays with sound in an interesting manner, and it is hard to flaw the film on anything. We are told nothing of the background of our protagonist, the supporting characters at times appear haphazardly thrown around, and yes, there is a lot of meandering and not much story, but this surely depicts the state of mind of the protagonist. Really, it is hard to say anything against this film, as it is so well made and moving that it is really just fine viewing. The first entry in a trilogy of films, it was followed in 1994 by 'Trois Couleurs: Blanc'.

First outing of a thought-provoking and brooding trilogy by Polish director Krystof Kieslowski inspired by the French tricolor flag , here ¨Blue¨ stands for ¨Liberty¨. Its is based on a tragedy by a car accident and the subsequent consequences on an affecting woman . Julia , Juliette Binoche, reshapes her existence after dieing her husband and their little young daughter . After surviving Julia , she has a feeling of grief and sells her properties and buys a flat in the city . She lives lonely but discovers a dark secret about her deceased husband , a former famous composer .

First of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns how the wife of a composer deals with the death of her husband and child . This is a tragic film , a symphony of pain and filmed in enjoyable style , good sense and high sensitivity . Subtle details make for careful viewing but it is a rewarding watch and a visual treat . Being necessary to keep an eye on cinematographic use of the color blue . Magnificent acting by Juliette Binoche who makes a real tour-of-force , she relies on the internalized affection rather than overwhelming displays for expression . Good support cast as Benoit Regent and Florence Pernal ; both of them also make appearances on the followings . The picture has various subtle references about trilogy such as : At one point, we see Julie carrying a box which, as a close-up shows, has prominently written across it the word "blanco", Spanish for white; in the next shot we are looking at her from behind, and she pauses in the street as a man in blue passes her on her left and a woman in red passes her on her right , this is a reference to the structure of the Three Colours trilogy - blue, white, red, in that order, mirroring the French flag . During one swimming scene in the blue pool, children in red and white bathing suits run out and jump in the water . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Slawomir Idziak , it is essential to be understood the story . As well as the musical score , Zbigniew Preisner composes a rousing and impressive soundtrack . The 1994 Annual Cesar Awards , presented by the French Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, it is France's main national film awards, considered by many in France, and internationally, to be the French equivalent of the American Academy Awards gave two deserved Cesar to the best actress Juliette Binoche and the best film , for this above average film titled ¨Blue¨ . Rating : Good , worthwhile watching .

The picture was followed by ¨Trois Couleurs : Blanc¨ , a bittersweet comedic story spiced with lasting love and vengeance , in which a bewildered Polish hairdresser is divorced by his disdainful French spouse and returning to his family in Poland when he decides to fake his death ; being starred by July Delpy and Zamachowski , including cameos by Juliette Binoche and Florence Pernal . And ¨Trois Couleurs : Rouge¨ starred by Irene Jacob , Jean Louis Trintignat , Frederique Feder and cameos by protagonists in the earlier film , Juliette Binoche and Benoit Regent ; ¨Red¨ is for fraternity in the Fench tricolor flag , dealing with emotional connections are mad between unlikely couples and director Kieslowski uses the ending to tie up loose ends .

There's a car crash and a great composer and his daughter are killed. His wife, Juliet Binoche survives.... sort of. She tries to kill herself, but cannot, so she .... puts everything in trust for her mother and her husband's servants, orders the house sold and the proceeds added to the trust, has one night of passion with her husband's colleague, Benoît Régent, then leaves. She rents a cheap apartment, spends her time watching other people, and drifts.

She tries to disappear into nothingness. However the world keeps intruding.

Since this is the first of Krzysztof Kieslowski's TROIS COULEURS trilogy, I kept looking at the colors. He's obvious in his palette, using blue for sadness, red for life, and a general sepia wash for the anomie and observational phase of the movie.

Yet to reduce a discussion of this fine movie to the technical tricks of the trade does no justice to its rich story, and the way everything in the world comes together to bring Miss Binoche to a realization of her own place in the world and her own nature. There are some startling realizations along the way, and Kieslowski and Miss Binoche are patient and deliberate in this portrait, teasing the audience into being interested in this character, who seems to be nothing without her husband and child, and desires to be nothing. In the end, I like to think, like Kieslowski and Binoche's Julie, we are all more than we seem.

The Three Colours trilogy was a colossus of European cinema in the 90s, but its lustre seems to have faded somewhat - none of the films made the recent Sight & Sound top 100.

Here we are though with a 4K restoration of Blue, still getting a raft of 5 star reviews from primarily male critics, but leaving me cold. Blue now looks like a pastiche arthouse movie, populated by luminously beautiful women mooning around Parisian cafes and strip joints with cigarettes in their mouths, and nothing of any consequence happening.

Juliette Binoche is undeniably fine in the lead, but this felt to me like a heterosexual 'male gaze' idealisation of a beautiful grieving woman who needed saving from her affectlessness, and without any amatory investment in her it was difficult for me to engage. The film has none of the intellectual provocation and interest of her work with Michael Haneke, which is much more my thing.

The cinematography is gorgeous, and the few interesting moments are where the camera homes in on beautiful quotidian detail (a cube of sugar absorbing coffee, a leaking brake line, etc).

The first in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Colors Trilogy, "Blue" will frustrate those in search of action or a brisk plot, as well as those who wish to become intimently attached to the characters. But the patient and reflective will be greatly rewarded by the films poetic images.

The entire film is lite in blue tones,scored with classical music and dialogue is sparse.The best way to approach it is a painterly appreciation for moments where a sugar cube is slowly saturated with coffee, or of a hand being dragged along a stone wall.

Juliet Binoche deservedly won the Venice Film Festival award for her understated performance.

Recommended for the patient and cerebral.

This film is a critical darling - a favourite of many notable film critics, including perhaps most famously Roger Ebert. But after watching it, I can't quite see what all the fuss is about. Seems a bit like an "Emperor with no clothes" situation where one must praise the film lest they not be allowed in the esteemed halls of the famous critics. To me, "Bleu" is objectively not a very good film. The story is not that interesting, the characters are not that likable, the cinematography has its moments, but mostly the film has a dull look, and the music quite bad actually considering the importance of music to the plot. You look at your watch and keep going, thinking that it must get good at some point to justify all this lavish praise. But it never does.

I think what is appealing to the critics and people who love this flim is that it is rich in symbolism and metaphors. Everything means something else. From reading Roger Ebert's gushing review, apparently there is even some "meta" symbolism at play in the larger scheme of the three film "Three Colors" trilogy. As clever as all this is, it didn't actually help me enjoy watching it any more than I did. The color blue motif that runs through the film comes across more hammy than clever.

My partner remarked "well, that was a waste of time" after the film ended, and I can't help but feel the same way, even though I usually enjoy challenging films. C'est la vie, but consider yourself warned.