Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

Krzysztof Kieslowski (scenario) and
Krzysztof Piesiewicz (scenario) ...

Release Date:

8 September 1993 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Plot:

First of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns how a composer deals with the death of her husband and child.

Plot Keywords:

Death Of Daughter | Part Of Trilogy | Polish | Death Of Husband | Color In Title

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 13 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Julie Vignon (de Courcy)
Benoît Régent	...	Olivier (as Benoit Regent)
Florence Pernel	...	Sandrine
Charlotte Véry	...	Lucille (as Charlotte Very)
Hélène Vincent	...	La journaliste (as Helene Vincent)
Philippe Volter	...	L'agent immobilier
Claude Duneton	...	Le médecin
Hugues Quester	...	Patrice
Emmanuelle Riva	...	La mère
Florence Vignon	...	La copiste
Daniel Martin	...	Le voisin du dessous
Jacek Ostaszewski	...	Le flutiste
Catherine Therouenne	...	La voisine
Yann Trégouët	...	Antoine (as Yann Tregouet)
Alain Ollivier	...	L'avocat

Also Known As:

Three Colors: Blue (Canada: English title) (USA)
Three Colours: Blue (Canada: English title) (UK)
Bleu (France) (short title)
Blue
Trzy kolory: Niebieski (Poland)

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

France | Poland | Switzerland | UK

Language:

French | Romanian | Polish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:14 (New Brunswick/Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island) (DVD rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Cité du Midi, Paris 18, Paris, France

Company:

CAB Productions

Trivia:

For the shot where Julie scrapes her hand along a stone wall, Juliette Binoche was originally supposed to wear a prosthetic to protect her hand, but it looked too obvious on camera. Binoche felt the scene was important enough that she actually dragged her unprotected hand along the wall, drawing real blood.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Julie mentions 'altos' as she describes the entrances of various instruments. The same word appears in the English subtitles as she speaks. The sound we hear, though, is not a group of female singers but a body of stringed instruments. In French the word 'alto' refers to a viola; the subtitle is a mistranslation.

Quotes:

Julie Vignon: Now I have only one thing left to do: nothing. I don't want any belongings, any memories. No friends, no love. Those are all traps.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The League of Gentlemen: Love Comes to Royston Vasey (#1.5)" (1999)

A passage through dark water into light

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.