Freedom is an Illusion

Rating: 10/10 (13 August 2010)

Krzysztof Kieslowski's most famous films are his last. The three colors trilogy or film tricolor was very highly appreciated among critics and viewers. The series of three includes the films Blue, White and Red. After the last one, Red, Kieslowski announced that it was the best he could do and therefore retired. I don't believe, and I don't think even Kieslowski believed that Red was the best he could do. I bet he only wanted to get peace, by announcing that. To get out of the fame and media. Each of the colors have one main theme, but the same themes repeat in all films, for instance the paradox of freedom and love, which had been a leading theme throughout Kieslowski's work, culminates in The Three Colors. Blue - Freedom is about a woman who loses her husband and daughter. She is in a prison of love, she tries to move on, detach and become independent, but can't. The paradox of love and freedom: the woman wants to be free but can't because she is in love. "People who think they're free are the least free of all." K. Kieslowski.
A woman, Julie (Juliette Binoche) suddenly gets in a car accident with her husband and daughter. She tries to find solutions how to continue her life, and decides to escape their home. Since Julie's husband was a famous composer, the media and the people are very interested in her life. Julie's husband had started a new composition in celebration of the united Europe. But because of his sudden death, the composition remained unfinished. A friend of Julie and his husband decodes to try to get the composition ready. When he gets Julie to agree and help him, they begin to compose it as close to the original purpose as possible.
Why The Three Colours Trilogy is so famous and appreciated is because the films are so multidimensional and full of many layers. Each of them have their own story and themes, but certain events, motives and themes combine them. Blue is about a woman, White as about a man and Red is about a man and a woman. That is the simplest way to look at them. But each of them have their leading themes: Blue / Freedom, White / Equality and Red / Fraternity. But of course all the films deal with plenty of other themes. In Blue among freedom Kieslowski deals with the difficulty of detachment and independence. It makes us wonder what is freedom? Can we ever actually get it? What is the freedom Julie seeks or receives from? This is of course what Krzysztof Kieslowski intended. He breaks many codes of narrative and traditional dramaturgy, but he certainly doesn't do that just to seem intelligent. He breaks the chronology and leaves many things opened, but if one pays attention one will figure them out.
In addition to Blue's thematic beauty and depth it is technically perfect. Krzysztof Kieslowski's main composer, Zbigniew Preisner composed the music for Blue as he did for No End and all the subsequent films by Kieslowski. His score is always very beautiful, touching, emotional and important for the film, but in Blue it is especially important for the story. The film itself deals with music, because Julie's husband was a composer. Preisner, who hasn't ever studied music wrote a beautiful composition for the unification of Europe. In the end where we get to listen to the composition one could cry. Not only because of the sad story or the touching climaxes, but because of the true beauty in cinema. I burst out into tears, the music is so beautiful, so perfect and so profound. The lyrics are taken from The Love Chapter in the Bible. The song is such a beautiful piece which makes one understand the beauty of life but also remember the enormous pain belongs to it.
There are several ways to interpret Blue, the events, the choices and the situations in it. The simplest way to understand Julie's choice would probably be to think that she had known that her husband had an affair for years. That is why the appearing of the mistress doesn't shock the audience as it doesn't Julie. But the theme score by Preisner, which plays every time someone talks about Julie's husband to her, gives many changes of different interpretations for the audience. For instance in the beginning a journalist asks Julie: "Is it true that you composed all the compositions by your husband?" No matter is the statement true, still Blue gives the audience a lot to decide, observe and think on their own.
Krzysztof Piesiewicz the screenwriter was the third important man in Kieslowski's team. Kieslowski says in his interview, Kieslowski on Kieslowski that Piesiewicz is not much of a writer, but an amazing speaker. They talk for hours and write the screenplays together. But Kieslowski admits that usually all the great ideas come from Piesiewicz. These three masterful men were able to create a perfect film cycle. Krzysztof Kieslowski was very talented in visual narrative he didn't need dialog to explain certain things and emotions. For example the old lady recycling the bottle, Julie sees her but decides not to help her. In Red the main character sees her and does decide to help her. In Blue we are clearly told that Freedom is only an illusion, which people so hardly try to reach but never can get. If White portrays love as a prison then in Blue the paradox of love and freedom comes from the impossibility to set oneself free and become independent when still in love. Because to Kieslowski love is the strongest force of all just as it says in The Love Chapter. Only love can expose the true nature of freedom.