This is a must-see film if you love French cinema

Rating: 10/10 (10 March 2016)

The French movie Trois couleurs: Bleu was shown in the U.S. with the title Three Colors: Blue (1993). It was written and directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. (It's one of the Three Colors trilogy by director Kieslowski. The other two are Three Colors: White with Julie Delpy, and Three Colors: Red with Irène Jacob.)
The film opens with a tragic accident. Julie Vignon (Juliette Binoche) is riding in a car with her husband and young daughter when the brakes fail and the car smashes into a tree. Her husband and daughter are killed. Julie is seriously injured, but survives.
This isn't only a personal tragedy; it's a national tragedy as well. Julie's husband is a famous composer, and he was in the midst of creating a major piece of music that would celebrate the possibility of a united Europe.
The rest of the movie shows us how Julie copes with her new life situation, and her possible love in the person of her husband's colleague Olivier, played by Benoît Régent.
Binoche is at the center of the film. She is the sun around which all the other characters revolve. I don't know if the movie would have worked with a different actor in the role.
Binoche is outstanding. We know she's outstanding. She knows she's outstanding. Most important, director Kieslowski knows she's outstanding. She's in almost every scene, and, in almost every scene, she's front and center. That's because Kieslowski can't take his eyes --or his camera--away from her.
Binoche is beautiful, but in a unique way. Some of her contemporary French female actors--Anne Parillaud, Emmanuelle Béart--are classically beautiful. However, Binoche is beautiful in her own strong, intelligent way. OK--as my wife pointed out, her cheekbones have cheekbones. Still, she's not standard "movie star" beautiful. She's a great actor who happens to be very attractive. It's a wonderful combination.
We saw this film at the excellent Dryden Theatre at George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It was shown as part of the "Three Colors: Remembering Krzysztof Kieslowski" series. It was great to see the movie on the large screen, but it will work almost as well on the small screen. This is a "must see" film for people who love French cinema. Even if you don't love French cinema, seek it out and watch it. You won't be disappointed.