Three Colours Blue [DVD] [1993]

The first instalment of the late Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity, the three colours of the French flag. Blue is the most sombre of the three, a movie dominated by feelings of grief. As the film begins, a car accident claims the life of a well-known composer. His wife, played by Juliette Binoche (Oscar winner for The English Patient), does not so much put the pieces of her life back together as start an entirely new existence. She moves to Paris, where she dissolves into a wordless life virtually without other people. Kieslowski attaches an almost subconscious significance to the colour blue but primarily he focuses on Binoche's luminous face and the way her subtle shifts in emotion flicker and disappear. The picture may be more enigmatic than the follow-ups White and Red but Binoche's quiet, heartbreaking presence becomes spellbinding; her performance won the best actress prize at the Venice Film Festival in 1993. --Robert Horton

DVD Special Features:

Krzysztof Kieslowski Masterclass (this is about 10 minutes worth of archive footage of the director talking about how he filmed 'Blue')
Interview with Juliette Binoche
Interview with Jacques Witta (editor)
Interview with Marin Karmitz (producer)
Theatrical trailer
Extracts from the original soundtrack composed by Zbigniew Preisner
Dolby Digital 5.1
French with English subtitles
16:9 anamorphic picture

"Stunning...astonishing...profoundly moving" (Geoff Andrew, Time Out)

"Classic Kieslowski: a transcendent, beautiful essay on freedom" (Independent On Sunday)

Krzystof Kieslowski's "Three Colours" trilogy, which explores the French Revolutionary ideals of Freedom, Equality and Brotherhood, are landmarks of world cinema. "Three Colours Blue" was an immediate success, winning the top prizes at the 1993 Venice film festival and unanimous praise from critics and audiences the world over. Julie (Juliette Binoche) loses her composer husband and their child in a car crash and, though devastated, she tries to make a new start, away from her country house and a would-be lover. But music still surrounds her and she uncovers some unpleasant facts about her husband's life. Slowly Julie learns to live again, as music and the gift of creativity prove to be a healing force.