A triumph of the human spirit...

Rating: 10/10 (14 February 1999)

This film has been a constant source of inspiration for me since seeing it five years ago. Juliette Binoche turns in an amazing performance as Julie, a woman who loses her husband and young girl in an auto accident that she survives. Numbed, Julie reacts by giving up her material possessions and turning her back on humanity. After starting life anew, however, she is forced to come to terms with and help the eccentric characters she meets (including the sex-show worker who is despised in Julie's building and the lawyer carrying her deceased husband's child).
These characters force Julie to feel emotion and ambition again. Watching Julie finish the grand musical composition that her husband began is to see a triumph of the human spirit. Despite the tragedy that made her want to ultimately withdraw from life, she brilliantly perseveres in the end. "Bleu" is a truly inspirational story.
I highly recommend watching Binoche in "The English Patient" and "Damage", two films which further show-case her talent and beauty.