Sorry, But "Bleu" is Boring

Rating: 5/10 (25 June 2006)

I'm afraid I don't have any deep and intelligent remarks to make about "Trois Couleurs: Bleu" because I found it rather boring. Generally, I like French films and I saw the other two installments of this trilogy, that is, "Red" and "White." I recall, however, that they were more interesting movies than this one, which frankly, isn't saying much. Yes, the score for "Bleu" was pretty good, but I wasn't moved by Juliette Binoche's performance as the grieving widow and mother nor drawn into the plot of the movie except on a superficial level. In fact, all the characters seemed shallow and uninteresting, including the lead. Repeatedly, I found myself becoming impatient with the slow pace of the story because nothing seemed to happen for considerable stretches. Perhaps another viewing would change my mind, but I have no interest in seeing the movie again and I don't believe my lack of interest was because everything in the film was so subtle and symbolic (as others mentioned) and I must be as sensitive as a piece of driftwood. All those lingering closeups on Binoche's face, I found ineffective and dull, at least partly because her face is not very interesting to me. Further, the tale does not adequately convey the sense of grief one feels in real life at the death of loved ones. Toward the end, Binoche became somewhat less stilted in her detached interpretation of an accident survivor, which I take to mean that she was emerging from her depressive state. What prompted this? Apparently, nothing more than the discovery that her dead husband had a mistress who was carrying his child. She became transformed by the news and suddenly wanted to share her house with the woman. Finally, she came to grips with the fact that she was the real musical genius in the family because she was able to finish off her dead husband's last symphony with ease and hand it over to her new love, his old collaborator. Talk of the director's brilliant reputation can't rescue this overblown effort. Other than the moving yet somewhat pretentious score, signifying European unity, and the visually arresting blueish scenes, I am underwhelmed. I wouldn't call it a lousy movie, simply not a very good one.