Features: DVD, English, Subtitled
Academy Award-winner Juliette Binoche (Chocolat)is a young woman left devastated by the unexpected death of her husband and child. She retreats from the world around her, but is soon reluctantly drawn into an ever-widening web of lies and passion as the dark secret life of her husband begins to unravel. With each startling discovery and heart-stopping surprise, Blue is sure to entertain you from beginning to end!
"A challenge to the imagination." Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"A powerful motion picture." James Berardinelli's ReelViews
"The rehabilitation of a human spirit after painful tragedy is given stunning, aesthetic dimension." Desson Howe, Washington Post
Editor's Note
In the first part of acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's extraordinary THREE COLORS trilogy, BLUE represents Liberty (of Equality and Fraternity) in the French flag and national motto. Julie (Juliette Binoche) is a young, musically gifted Frenchwoman who has just lost her daughter and renowned composer-husband Patrice (Claude Duneton) in a tragic car accident. During her long physical and emotional convalescence, a journalist questions Julie about the widespread rumor that she's the actual composer of all Patrice's work. She rebuffs the journalist's inquiry regarding her husband's music, but she does not deny it. Upon leaving the hospital, Julie takes a flat in Paris and struggles to start anew--but not until she destroys Patrice's final unfinished work: a huge symphony for twelve orchestras, to be played at a gala celebrating the upcoming unification of twelve European nations. But another copy surfaces, and gradually, as Julie discovers some surprising secrets about her husband's life, she's drawn back to the music, and the pleasures of existence. Kieslowski uses color as metaphor ingeniously, adding immense emotional depth to the story that is unfolding on screen. As Julie, Binoche is a striking cinematic presence. Her transition from a destroyed widow to a woman who has learned to embrace life gives BLUE the heart and soul that makes it a powerful, moving work.
Plot Summary
The first installment of Polish cinematic genius Kieslowski's THREE COLORS trilogy, BLUE stands for Liberty (of Equality and Fraternity) in the French national motto, and is the first color of the French flag. A young woman (Juliette Binoche) tries to uncover her husband, a famous composer's, secret life after he dies mysteriously. Each step takes her both closer to, and further from, the truth in her journey; her path is ultimately about her own self-discovery.
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