LoginAll three films in the "Three Colours Trilogy" are must watches, and even me considering 'Three Colours: White' the weakest of the three is not saying anything to discredit it. That is still a great film which is testament to the brilliance of 'Blue' and 'Red' for them to be even better.
'Three Colours: Red' is my favourite of the trilogy. Even with less emphasis on action and dialogue (though not devoid), it has the most layered, thematically rich and thought-provoking story of the trilogy. To me, 'Red' is not just the best film in the trilogy but also one of the best films seen by me in a while and one of the finest final films for any director.
It chiefly focuses on the electrifying relationship between Valentine and the judge, and like with 'Blue' being a poignant exploration of grief and liberty and 'White' a blackly entertaining one of equality and revenge 'Red' explores the theme of fraternity, as well as other themes of morality, free will and destiny, and manages to tell a powerful and thoughtful story out of those themes. Again, like 'White' and particularly 'Blue', 'Red' is heavy in symbolism, such as the recycling of bottles (here representing solidarity), the use of the colour red to emphasise the theme of fraternity, links to the protagonist's past (here with fountain pens and never shutting doors and gates) and juxtaposition of physical levels, but in a way that's always fascinating and never incomprehensible (even if it takes more than one viewing or some research to fully get the significance of it all).
Visually, while all three films are superbly made, 'Red' is perhaps the most visually stunning. The cinematography is stunning in its elegance and beauty, with bold use of colour and handsome production design. The music score is the most powerful of the three films and the most memorable and fitting, not as symbolic or as intricate as 'Blue' but stirring stuff indeed. Kieslowski's direction as ever is assured and unobtrusive, his style is unmistakable and he does a lot of interesting touches that make the film visually and dramatically fascinating.
Again, the writing is thought-provoking and makes the most of the film's rich themes. The central relationship is portrayed electrifyingly while the ending is quite the masterstroke in figuratively and literally tying the whole trilogy up. The two lead roles are immaculately acted by luminous Irene Jacob and commandingly nuanced Jean-Louis Trintignant.
In summary, a brilliant film in every sense. 10/10 Bethany Cox
Three Colours: Red (1994) Reviews
"Three Colours Trilogy": Part 3
Posted : 1 year, 10 months ago on 4 June 2022 06:16
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Three Colours: Red (1994) review
Posted : 2 years, 4 months ago on 12 December 2021 12:23
(MU) The story of Trintignant is elusive in the firt half, then makes dissapear the other plots, Irene Jacob is just a too self conscious medium, ajd there´s too many alibis...
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A good movie
Posted : 9 years, 5 months ago on 5 November 2014 10:27
I already saw this movie but since it was ages ago, I was quite eager to check it out again. First of all, it had been also many years since I saw a movie starring Iréne Jacob and she kept reminding me of another actress and it took me a while to figure out that it was Claire Danes. I know, they don't actually really look a like but it had mostly to do with her silhouette and her body language which was just so similar to Claire Danes, at least, in my opinion. Anyway, in fact, it was just seriously distracting. Coming back to the movie itself, it has always been considered as the best movie in Krzysztof Kieslowski's heralded trilogy but, to be honest, I still think it is a rather tricky movie. Fortunately, I was more able to enjoy it this time around but I still struggled to connect with the damned thing though. Above all, it had to do with the fact that what Kieslowski tried to achieve with this movie still remained rather obscure to me. On top of that, to be honest, I don't think that the characters were really fascinating. Still, there is no doubt that Iréne Jacob and Jean-Louis Trintignant gave some strong performances and there was something really interesting in their relationship which was refreshingly platonic. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn't blow me away, it is still a strong drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Krzysztof Kieslowski's work.
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