An elegant machinery of rhetoric doesn't make for a poem

Rating: 7/10 (6 January 2016)

I cannot be sure that Kieslowski cared much for the script of this film; otherwise he would not have made this 2-act film drawn out into the length of a 4-act. The symbols are there, elegantly shot perhaps, but not elegantly placed; the black screens and musical outbursts are overdone and obtrusive, to say the least. And when the widow, (shall we call her Ms. Blue? I don't remember her name) Ms. Blue, is given the cue for reflection (such as when waiting in the dark for an entire minute, deliberating on whether to open her apartment door to check on the remnants of a street fight), the actress "reflects" well -- but to what end? We get the feeling that Kieslowski is making a feature film from the pieces of a short film (what would be a fantastic short film!) and must slather a coat of cinematic, slow "art house" "reflective" paint over the missing pieces to hit a 80+ minute running time. Perhaps to make the film eligible for awards.
It is a wonderful film, especially visually; unforgettable are the ultramarine swimming pool and a sugar cube absorbing coffee. But sugar cubes and swimming pools alone don't make for a feature film. The dramatic weight just isn't there, and the freshness of the visuals certainly don't mend the paucity.