Krzysztof Kieślowski‘s “Three colours trilogy” is a set of three films loosely dealing with the three colours of the french flag, representing the three ideals of the French Republic: liberty, equality, fraternity, in a typically Kieślowski way. All films are filmed in French, or French and Polish, and like his earlier works, are set to the haunting scores by Kieślowski’s traditional collaborating composer, Zbigniew Preisner.
The Three films:
Blue
Blue is the first and most popular film of the trilogy, starring Juliette Binoche. Kieślowski explores the idea of liberty by looking at the protagonist’s emotional reaction of being liberated from her family by their sudden death. It does not get more Kieślowski than this.
Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
Country: Poland, France, Switzerland
Year: 1993
Runtime: 1hr 34min
Language: French, Polish
Subtitles: English
White
In White, Kieślowski takes a stab at “equality” of the sexes, and of immigrants in this tale of humiliation and revenge, which I cannot help but think is strongly influenced by Kieślowski’s own experience of working as a Polish director in France. Although not as popular as blue, this is a close second favourite of mine in the series and definitely worth a good watch, perhaps as a double feature with the less sarcastic “the Double Life of Veronique” which explores similar themes of the east/west devide in today’s European Union.
Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
Country: Poland, France, Switzerland
Year: 1994
Runtime: 1hr 27min
Language: French, Polish
Subtitles: English
Kieślowski declared that this would be the last film he made, and it is true, he died suddenly in 1996, two years after this film’s release.
Director: Krzysztof Kieślowski
Country: Poland, France, Switzerland
Year: 1994
Runtime: 1hr 39min
Language: French, Polish
Subtitles: English