My Writings

Slowly Julie re-connects with the world, but this is not a movie about a plot, it is an evocation. Kieslowski relies on the skill of his actress to give resonance to his clever use of imagery. Binoche does not let him down with a career best performance, deep and transfixing, lacking cliche, and with the use of subtle charisma she nails the character, so that we are mesmerised and deeply sympathetic.

A third important aspect of the film's appeal is an excellent soundtrack from regular musical collaborator Zbigniew Priesner. Binoche's composer husband, we learn, has been invited to write an important symphony to be played at the inauguration for the Unification of Europe. Binoche tries to destroy the work because it transpires she was an integral part of her husband's work, and she is determined that she must disconnect with her past if she is to prevail.

The final scene, where Julie shows the strength of her character and we see the faint glimmer of a smile amongst the tears as she listens to the re-written composition playing in the background, is a very satisfactory finale. Blue is the first instalment of Kieslowski's trilogy, about the three French revolutionary ideals, representing freedom, but is probably more to do with hope or the human spirit. Kieslowski does not quite attain the cinematic heights evidenced in Veronique but this is sublime cinema.