How French would you consider this film to be? Think about French film history popular French genre and narratives. Is it quintessentially French?
The Director was originally from Poland but French cinema often attracted talent from other countries like Roland Polanski another Polish director working in France.


Why does french cinema attract talent from other countries?
French cinema is arguably the most famous cinema in Europe and in many ways is the antithesis of Hollywood. Traditionally, french cinema has enjoyed support from the French government which has allowed fresh talent to emerge, whilst film criticism was born in France with the advent of Cahiers du Cinema and subsequently France has been a magnet for talent. French films have a reputation for the following:

* Slower pacing -in comparison to American or British cinema- with stronger characters. More realistic as opposed to stock Hollywood characters. Characterization is key in French cinema, which may explain why Hollywood audiences can be frustrated with French cinema, as narratives engage with character profiles at the expense of forwarding the plot. Also, French cinema has no real tradition in the special effects associated with big Hollywood studios.
* French cinema is famous for polysemic, ambiguous endings which do not fully resolve on-going narratives. Why do they do this? It's more realistic, and treats the audience with a high degree of respect, inviting cinema goers to think about the ending of a film rather than prescribing meaning. the interview with Michael Haneke (the director of Cache/Hidden) exemplifies this point. Some French films act almost like rhetorical questions, with no single response expected. However, French cinema has experienced an Americanisation in recent years and some critics have suggested that it has lost some of its unique identity in the process.
* The use of a still camera, with very little movement is another sign of the French nature of this film.
* The Mistress is a stereotype based partly on truth. Acceptance that the Mistress is part of French culture.
Julie has repressed her emotional state. She realizes shes acting very self indulgent and wants to help the Mistress. Shows how she was before the accident and perhaps this is her only conduit to her dead husband and daughter.
-Normal for men to have mistresses in France. (see list of royal French mistresses)
-Shows how French culture influenced the narrative of the film


Zbigniew Preisner (sound designer) is sometimes considered to be the true ‘author’ of Trois Couleurs Bleu. To what extent do you agree with this statement and what function does the fragmented Unification of Europe soundtrack form within the narrative?

The fragmented music impinges on Julie's attempts to reinvent herself, thereby suggesting that she cannot completely repress her emotions whilst also indicating that the score is incomplete. (A metaphor for Julie and indeed Europe as a whole) Usually, the music is present she’s alone; it suggests that she’s always bringing her grief with her. Together with the colour of blue, it helps communicate grief, anger and pain.

The soundtrack shows her emotions. Great TOK example, emotions are conveyed through sound. Sound motif? A motif of her emotional state. Was this too repetitive for some members of the audience, subsequently leading to a negotiated reading of the text. Ultimately, does the film have a resolution at the end? The soundtrack is only heard in its entirety at the very end of the film.

The soundtrack has been a key component of the film. It was nostalgic. However the audience can get sick of Julie's grief. There's no way you can go in to that deep of self indulgent. Depressing? This is a film that invites you to wallow in melancholy (much like Raging Bull & The Hustler) and share Julie's grief.



Given the significance of the “Unification of Europe” as the recurring motif of this film, to what extent do you think real life French European social political context from 1992/1993 forms the context and helps inform the film?

The UE was made to attempt to unite people. It's an ideal vision or utopia created by her Julie/husband. But it doesn't exist in reality. When her friend says "it's a beautiful music," it could be interpreted that it is actually a beautiful idea/concept of a united Europe but unfortunately there is far too much hostility between European nations to make this a reality.

When we hear it in it's entirety, we are shown a matrice of Julie's life, of how it's interconnected with all the other protagonists and thereby hints at the interconnectedness of our lives. Why have this song, as the metaphor at the end of the film? Suggesting perhaps if this song was a metaphor of Europe, this could happen? At the time it was made, is this supposed to be an optimistic ending?

The music also connects with the motif of Liberty, which forms one of the three foundations of the blue, read and white which gives the trilogy its name. By the end of the film a lot of the blue has gone and has been replaced with colours like green and red. Julie's new friend Lucille represented red, red light district etc. Also does this show that Julie has found friendship? Red symbolizes Fraternity- brother hood, friendship.
In the end we don't see a complete ending as we still see traces of blue. Has France found it's liberty? Has France reached a sense of freedom for people? If not, why not? France has recently voted in a right wing president (President Sarkozy). Many left-wing French idealists feel uncomfortable with France's current image (and its playboy President) and feel that the ideals of the French revolution have been betrayed.

Kieslowski was heavily influenced by Cinema Verite and documentary film making. How important is the construction of realism’ and the suspension of disbelief to Trois Coleurs Bleu and any potential ‘preferred reading’ of the text?

Is this a realist text? To start off, yes it was. To begin with, handheld camera, accident happens, it's all realistic it's meant to engage the audience. The soundtrack then comes in and it becomes less unreal as emotions kick in. Dogma95 would be disgraced by it since there is so mcuh nondiagetic sound added. Alot of stylisation going on and manipulation going on. Song evokes emotion without actually having to understand the lyrics. French/italian considered to be poetic/romantic.

At the beginning the movie diegetic sound of the car passing the highway is manipulated into ambient sound. The low shot placed underneath the camera obscures the road ahead leaving the audience with uncertainty as to what is about to happen next. We are given a focused shot of what appears to be a malfunctioning part of the car which makes the narrative (the crash) more believable and realistic. Several POV shots are used for the construction of realism. This is Kieslowski’s attempt at creating a believable narrative which I believe is from his influences in Cinema Verite and documentary film making. One significant scene is when Julie looks at the music score and the two ends are blurred with the middle notes very clear. It portrays realistically how the Julie is focusing on what she sees. This is also seen at the start when she wakes up and the focus of the doctor becomes clearer as she is more conscious. The on location sounds in the background and on set (i.e. water sounds in the swimming pool), the limited camera movement also emphasize the realism. Near the ending when she was having a conversation in the toilet with the mistress which I think is a scene where audience are attracted to or interested in what they will say and someone comes in and interrupts the conversation, we also see the uneasy atmosphere where you know someone is listening to what you say, i feel that this adds to the level of realism in the film.

In this movie the construction of realism is important because Kieslowski wants the audience to be involved emotionally (as this film, according to him is concerned with emotional liberty) and empathy with Julie. However at this point we will accept the suspension of disbelief (the blue overlays are introduced) to follow the narrative. For the audience to be involved emotionally, I think Kieslowski achieves this by constant repetition of nostalgia. Everytime Julie sees something that belonged to her husband and daughter, she, and the audience, is reminded of the accident which increases audience sympathy for the character. The use of shadows and amplified non-diegetic/ diegetic sounds to arouse audience's awareness and keep them engaged. Her actions which are driven by her emotions also help demonstrate how emotionally erratic Julie is and sees her trying to escape from reality and face than trauma. The sudden blue neon lights that appear when she closes her eye, the shades of pure white, red and blue in the 'repeating sequence of the old lady'
and loud music detract from the 'realism' in this film but on the other hand accentuate audience's emotions very differently. Another part where i think realism comes into place, the part where Julie seeks Olivier, it is shot as a long shot with not much cutting back and forth, very different from 'conventional' conversations, he opens the door and has a conversation with Julie, eventhough Julie doesn't speak, the camera doesn't show her expression or reactions. Olivier seems like he is speaking to the camera, like a monologue. Based on everything I have roughly outlined in this brief intro to this conversation- do you think 'Trios Couleurs Bleu' is a piece of art?
Here are a couple more responses:
Mr. W: 'The intension criterion is one of the strongest, particularly from the perspective of critical reception, as we are taught from an early age to consider the purpose and intent of an author so as we can understand the work. Representational aesthetic theory suggests that the more accurately art depicts reality, the more it should be deemed as art. However, I think this is a slightly simplistic measure of art. For instance, many people can draw accurately but this is not necessarily 'art.' Realist art (for me) should seek to reveal something about what it means to be a human, possibly in a way that I had not previously considered or possibly something I have considered but from a new angle.

Trois Couleurs Bleu resonates with me because as I mentioned to the class, it is absolutely saturated with self-indulgent grief, a very human emotion which reveals (like Raging Bull & The Hustler) the bizarre pleasure to be gained from melancholy, which is probably why drugs that induce melancholic pleasure (like heroin) are so addictive. However, this could be considered nothing more than 'confirmation bias' as I like films which explore the state of melancholy and reveal something of the contradictions of true human emotion. e.g. Julia wants the liberty of reinventing herself after the death of her husband and daughter but is unable to fully breakaway away from her past, as suggested by the musical score and blue palette. Indeed, she takes her old life with her (the blue chandelier) whilst simultaneously selling her house and cutting off from previous relationships. Paradoxically, she is drowning in her own liberty (swimming scenes) but is also attempting to make sense of the repressed feelings which we are occasionally invited to glimpse.

Ultimately, art is subjective, despite the theoretical attempts to rationalise a criterion although in my opinion the brilliance of the musical score, engagement with very real human emotional contradictions and subtlety of the French flag and the values which underpin those choices throughout the trilogy create a richness of text, worthy to be called 'art.'

Mary Hui: Personally I see art as an abstract projection of an individual's mind- the painter, the photographer, the film maker, the fictional charcter etc. What characterises art is its ability to connect and relate to people becauses of its abstractivity- due to its very nature art is open to a host of different interpretations and that, I think, is the fundamental element that makes art of whatever form very exciting.

From Mr Williamson's little extract of Trios Couleurs Bleu below I would definitly perceive it as a piece of art. It explores the niches of the human mind and seems to portray these abstractly, open to interpretation.