★★★★½

Three Colours: Blue (1993)

Written by Dalton Welsh - July 28, 2020

There have been a great many films that have successfully and effectively explored grief. While some may be portrayed more emotionally dramatic, Krzysztof Kieślowski’s opening film to his three colours trilogy “Three Colours: Blue” is perhaps the most realistic portrayal put to screen. Following the journey of Julie who is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young daughter. Lead actress Juliette Binoche portrays Julie’s despair and aimlessness in her performance with such pitch perfect subtlety, strengthened by thematically dense visual storytelling and a purposeful, effecting use of music. This unfiltered approach to the ramifications of tragic loss making for a film that is unflinchingly fresh and truly profound.

At just under 100 minutes the film doesn’t waste a moment, with every scene so purposeful and integral to the story, the themes and ideas communicated so expertly through the film’s cinematography. While director of photography Sławomir Idziak doesn’t do a lot of flashy work in his cinematography in terms of vibrant colours or sweeping camera movement, given the somber tone of the film a barer colour palette and sedentary camera is appropriate. The visuals instead tell a story through the framing of our protagonist Julie. With many scenes containing just Julie, the dialogue is sparing, but Idziak’s work speaks more than words ever could. Every frame has so much meaning behind it, just the proximity of our protagonist to objects or other people in the frame speaks volumes of her separation from others, despair and longing for those she’s lost, and her attempts to abandon attachment to prevent ever feeling such grief again. Unsurprisingly the film makes frequent use of blue, representative not just of surface level depression but blue within the story reminds Julie of her husband giving greater thematic connotation to its use throughout the film.

With Julie’s late husband having been a composer, Music is also used in the film to further draw attention to her grieving his loss. When we find Julie at her lowest points it will be often be accompanied by a bombastic orchestral score which not only displays the lingering memory of the protagonist’s husband but also heightens the drama of the scene. Particularly when juxtaposed with the subtlety and quiet of the rest of the film it makes these scenes all the more viscerally and emotionally impactful making for a truly satisfying audio-visual display.

The film never shows the relationship that these two had but the longing, despair and pain portrayed by actress Juliette Binoche makes their connection so clear. Making for a compelling study of their relationship, despite the fact that we never witness it unfold. Binoche’s performance conveys the thoughts of the character with such control as Julie finds herself emotionally stunted, unsure as to what the proper emotional reaction is to display at a time of such intense sorrow. Because of this Binoche must convey all these complicated feelings and emotions of sadness and confusion with almost unnoticeable intricacy. The arc of Julie’s character as she makes desperate attempts to liberate herself from her past and its associated painful memories brings with it great sympathetic sadness for the viewer. But it also rouses a sense of pride as this same liberation provides her with the independent spirit needed to soldier through these dark times in her life. These complex interdependent emotions making for a character that is wholly intriguing and compelling.

So, with a masterclass in subtle emotional communication from Juliet Binoche, conveying everything from strength and anger to despair and desultory. Krzysztof Kieślowski presents a character study of the consequences and effects of grief that has seldom been seen on screen with such sincerity. The journey of Julie further emphasised through cinematography that is rich with thematic purpose. And an effectively sporadic use of powerful orchestral music to heighten and draw further attention to the loss Julie feels at the loss of her husband. Making for an ultimately compelling view of how we as individuals respond and change after experiencing great and intense loss.