Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)

Director:

Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writers:

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

Release Date:

8 September 1993 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Mystery | Romance

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Blue | Liberty | Composer | Grief | Love

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 14 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Juliette Binoche	...	Julie
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 (Mari de Julie)
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
Isabelle Sadoyan	...	La servante
Pierre Forget	...	Le Jardinier
Philippe Manesse
Arno Chevrier
Idit Cebula
Stanislas Nordey
Jacques Disses
Michel Lisowski
Yves Penay
Philippe Morier-Genoud
Julie Delpy	...	Dominique
Zbigniew Zamachowski	...	Karol Karol (avec la participation de)
Alain Decaux
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Julie Gayet	...	(uncredited)
Piotr Jaxa	...	Photographer at funeral (uncredited)

Directed by
Krzysztof Kieslowski

Writing credits
Krzysztof Kieslowski		(scenario) and
Krzysztof Piesiewicz		(scenario)
Agnieszka Holland		(scenario collaborator) and
Edward Zebrowski		(scenario collaborator) and
Slawomir Idziak		(scenario collaborator)

Produced by
Marin Karmitz	....	producer

Original Music by
Zbigniew Preisner

Cinematography by
Slawomir Idziak		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Jacques Witta

Casting by
Margot Capelier

Production Design by
Claude Lenoir

Set Decoration by
Lionel Acat
Christian Aubenque
Jean-Pierre Delettre
Julien Poitou-Weber
Marie-Claire Quin

Makeup Department
Jean-Pierre Caminade	....	hair stylist
Jean-Pierre Caminade	....	makeup artist
Valérie Tranier	....	hair stylist
Valérie Tranier	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Yvon Crenn	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
François Azria	....	assistant director
Julie Bertucelli	....	assistant director
Emmanuela Demarchi	....	assistant director
Emmanuel Finkiel	....	assistant director
Stefan Libiot	....	assistant director (as Stéphane Libiot)

Art Department
Michel Charvaz	....	props

Sound Department
Vincent Arnardi	....	foley artist
Claire Bez	....	sound editor
Pascal Colomb	....	sound recordist
William Flageollet	....	sound mixer
Jean-Claude Laureux	....	sound
Jean-Pierre Lelong	....	foley artist
Bertrand Lenclos	....	sound editor
Mario Melchiorri	....	foley artist
Brigitte Taillandier	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Ernst Brunner	....	lighting technician
Muriel Coulin	....	assistant camera
Alain Dondin	....	lighting technician
Alain Dreze	....	grip
Alain Dubouloz	....	electrician
Piotr Jaxa	....	second camera operator
Piotr Jaxa	....	still photographer
Henryk Jedynak	....	assistant camera
Hans Meier	....	lighting technician
Albert Vasseur	....	grip

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Naima Lagrange	....	costumes
Virginie Viard	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Aïlo Auguste-Judith	....	assistant editor (as Ailo Auguste)
Catherine Cormon	....	assistant editor
Michele D'Attoma	....	assistant editor
Urszula Lesiak	....	assistant editor
Rob Sciarratta	....	video color timer (uncredited)

Music Department
Chór Filharmonii Slaskiej	....	musician (as Les Choeurs Philharmonique de SILESIE)
Leszek Kaminski	....	assistant music recordist
Halina Laciak	....	executive music producer
Konrad Mastylo	....	musician: piano
Wojciech Michniewski	....	conductor
Jacek Ostaszewski	....	musician: flute
Rafal Paczkowski	....	music recording engineer
Elzbieta Towarnicka	....	musician: soprano
Sinfonia Varsovia	....	musician
Jan Wojtacha	....	chorus master

Other crew
Olivier Bulteau	....	administrator
Aline Corneille	....	administrator
Geneviève Dufour	....	script supervisor (as Genevieve Dufour)
Roman Gren	....	acting coach
Anne Guillemard	....	administrator
Caroline Lassa	....	administrator
Marcin Latallo	....	dialog translator
Stan Latek	....	assistant to director
Dominique Lefèvre	....	administrator (as Dominique Lefevre)
Laurette Monconduit	....	public relations assistant
Eva Simonet	....	public relations
Jean Talvat	....	administrator
Nicolas Tempier	....	administrator
Gisèle Vuillaume	....	administrator (as Gisele Vuillaume)

Thanks
Andrew Litton	....	special thanks
Alexis Weissenberg	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Canal+ (participation)
• Conseil de l'Europe (financial support)
• CAB Productions
• CED Productions
• Eurimages
• France 3 Cinéma
• MK2 Productions
• Zespol Filmowy "Tor"

Distributors

• MK2 Diffusion (1993) (France) (theatrical)
• MK2 Éditions (2002) (France) (DVD)
• Artificial Eye (1993) (UK) (theatrical)
• Film Arte (1994) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Finnkino (1994) (Finland) (theatrical)
• JMM Invest (1993) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Miramax Films (1993) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Asociace Ceských Filmových Klubu (ACFK) (Czech Republic)
• Finnkino (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Noble Entertainment (2008) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (Argentina) (video)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Sinfonia Varsovia  orchestra
• Chór Filharmonii Slaskiej  chorus (as Les Choeurs Philharmonique de Silesie)
• Studio Polskiego Radia SZ/S4  music recording studio (as Studio S4 - Varsovie)
• Orchestre de la Suisse Romande  special thanks
• Mairie de Paris  thanks (as La Mairie de Paris)
• Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (R.A.T.P.)  thanks
• Alfa Romeo  thanks
• Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris  thanks
• Ercidan  titles and opticals
• Go Sport  thanks
• Hewlett Packard  thanks
• Hôpital Lariboisière  thanks
• Renoma  thanks
• Virgin France  soundtrack

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)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

France | Poland | Switzerland

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:

Canal+

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)

Bleu A Symphony of Grief

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