2017 Blind Spot: The Three Colors; Blue, White and Red


What I knew going in: I had read plenty of reviews on each of the films.

Blue: "Liberty" - Julie (Juliette Binoche) loses her husband and young daughter to a car crash. Now she's determined to shed every thing from her old life and to keep to herself in Paris. However the music from her composer husband's last piece of work haunts her, and she can't shake it.

Reading the synopsis of each film,  I thought Blue would be my favorite but it's kind of a downer. However, it really is an incredible piece of filmmaking.  I like how introspective the film was. It had to be that way, because that's how Julie lives now. She's distancing herself, and the film almost distances us from her. While I would normally hate the "fade to black" cuts director Krzysztof Kieslowski uses frequently, I like how it sort of forced us to focus on the music instead. B

White: "Equality" Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is a Polish man living in France, but is divorced by his wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy) and forced to move back to Poland with no money. He starts to forge a new life for himself, but he has one thing on his mind now: Revenge.

White needs some serious suspension of disbelief at times. A little more than I'm willing to give, unfortunately. I really liked the characters of Karol and his new friend, Mikolaj (Janusz Gajos) and acting wise, they were fantastic. They elevate the story. I wasn't a fan of the ending, mostly because I just don't understand how Karol could still feel the way he did after everything that happened. Blue and Red will probably stick with me for a long time, but I can't see White doing that.  B-

Red: "Fraternity" Valentine (Irene Jacob) is a model living in Geneva. She accidentally runs over a dog one night (don't worry, he lives) and when she tracks down the dog's owner, she finds a retired judge, Kern (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who has taken to wire tapping his neighbors phone calls. They form a unique friendship over his crime.

Red takes a while to get going. I had the strangest sensation while watching this film. It's like I was just idly enjoying it, then it hit me; wow. I really love Valentine and Kern's relationship. I always feel like I can relate to curious characters. Valentine's curiosity is what propels their friendship. There's a subplot with her neighbor, Auguste that I thought was a massive waste of time, though it makes sense at the end, but even that couldn't dampen just how invested I was in Valentine. They talk about love whilst eavesdropping and I felt like I was falling more in love with the film as it went on. A-

I'm glad I got ambitious with this. I can see why this trilogy is so highly regarded from a film making standpoint. You can tell by my ratings what order I'd put them in. I definitely recommend all three. 

Comments

  1. I like how you sound genuinely surprised that the one about the dead family is a bit of a downer ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol I knew it would be heavy due to the subject matter, but the way it was shot wasn't what I expected. It was so isolated.

      Delete
  2. I would like to revisit these films because it has been so long. I enjoyed your reviews because they are spot on. My favourite is Red then Blue and, finally, White.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I was actually kind of annoyed with the ending of White because I did not want them to be together.

      Delete
  3. This is pretty much one of my all-time favorite trilogies as I watch it every few years as they always hold up. Bleu is my favorite of the three films. I still have my old 2003 Miramax set which is next to the Criterion set that I bought a few years ago. So, what's next film series will you do next? The Decalogue?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'll have to research that one. I haven't heard of it.

      Delete
  4. It's so hard to rank the three. I personally view the trilogy as a collective piece but if I had to rank them I'd put White on-top followed by Blue and then Red. But I definitely love and adore all three.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do make one collective piece rather nicely. I haven't heard of many putting White on top, it feels so different from the other two. That's awesome.

      Delete
  5. I asked for -- and received -- this trilogy for Christmas several years ago but, for some reason, I never got past Blue. The aesthetic quality of that movie was amazing and, like you, I loved how introspective it was. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you watch White and Red sometime soon, you definitely should!

      Delete
  6. Excited to embark on this next month myself! Too bad I have to "suffer" until the last one? based on the grades ( I won't read the reviews before I've seen the films myself)..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. lol Red is pretty depressing. I think people usually like White more than I did, I just wasn't in love with it. I look forward to your reviews!

      Delete

Post a Comment

Thanks for stopping by, let's talk movies!
(comments are moderated to reduce spam)

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Batman

Thursday Movie Picks: Wedding Movies

Random Ramblings: The Radio Flyer Conundrum