"If I have not love..., I have nothing."

Rating: 10/10 (13 December 2017)

I feel I've discovered something profound by learning of Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy of films in 'Three Colors'. It's virtually impossible to find a completely original concept in movies today, yet the Polish director has achieved something in his work that creates a long lasting impression. 'Blue' establishes it's theme of liberty through loss early in the story, as we follow the post-accident life of the picture's protagonist Julie Vignon (Juliette Binoche), as she tries to cope with the loss of a husband and young daughter. Julie goes to the extreme of selling off all her possessions and moving to the city where she can live alone and escape her memories, along with friends and lovers who no longer have any meaning for her. This life of self imposed solitary confinement will not last long, as the kind hearted young woman finds it impossible not to come to the aid of others in distress or turmoil.
I found this to be a strangely fascinating film experience. The theme of 'blue' repetitively appears throughout the story - the blue room that Julie orders emptied at the family home, the crystal strands of the mobile she takes with her to the city, the blue lollipop and wrapper, and the swimming pool she takes laps in to relieve her innate stress at being alive. I'm wondering if there's some hidden symbolism with the pool; Julie never laps it lengthwise, she only swims from one side to the other. I was also very curious about the scene where Julie observes three (three again) thugs beating up a man who gets away and seeks refuge in her apartment building. One expects that she come to the man's aid, but instead she's locked out of her apartment for the night, and the man is nowhere to be found. This appears to be a Kieslowski trademark of introducing characters in his films that are unconnected to the main theme, and wind up superfluous to the story. Not exactly a maguffin or a red herring, but a uniquely different kind of creative touch that one doesn't experience in other movies.
I began watching these films out of order, having already seen "Three Colors:Red", but not commenting on it until I've seen the director's 'Blue' and 'White' movies to see if there's a connecting thread. It seems implicit, while other reviewers make note of elements that come together by the final installment. Though 'Red' seems to stand alone well enough by itself with no recurring characters, I did pick up on a hint in 'Blue', and will have to see how the thread plays out. So more on that at a later time.