Krzysztof Kieślowski’s trilogy ‘Three Colors: Blue, White and Red’ is almost 30 years old but people all around the world still rewatch it. I just attended a screening for over 400 people!
The first part, ‘Three Colors: Blue’ is about Julie who lost her husband and young daughter in an accident. She decides to give up everything and not to get attached to anything in the world. But from the very beginning she can’t let go of a lamp from her daughter’s room so it is not really as easy as she seems to think. She slowly realizes that we humans cannot live on our own – we need other people around us. Olivier who is in love with her helps her to realize that we need connections, sometimes we need help and most of all we need to feel needed. She also questions fate and coincidences. Our actions cause chain reactions.
The second film of the trilogy ‘Three Colors: White’ shows how Karol Karol is ready to do anything it takes to win back his ex-wife Dominique. He visualizes in advance his revenge on her and nothing can stop him from getting the money he needs to materialize his vision. Not even a contract killing of his own friend. He proceeds with it only to persuade the would-be suicider that life is worth living. Together they climb to the top of the world because they believe that anything is possible. And Karol in the end realizes that he does not want to leave Dominique so he risks everything to stay with her instead of running away from love.
Lastly, the third movie ‘Three Colors: Red’ follows a student and part-time model Valentine around Geneva where she crosses paths with law student Augustine. They are neighbors but do not know each other. They do not even seem to be aware of each other’s existence. Or the fact that they are destined to be together in the future. In this movie Kieślowski shows that we should always follow our intuition. And that some things that happen around us we will never understand but we need to trust the universe that it will take care of us and reward us. As long as we live with an open heart and believe that people are fundamentally good.
In the end all of the six characters meet at the ferry and together with a British bartender, whose story we never get to know, are the only survivors of the storm. That was the reason why we heard their stories. To see how they got where they ended up at the end of the trilogy. Julie united with Olivier and Karol with released from prison Dominique. These two couples give us hope that Valentine and August, who is almost a reincarnation of Judge Kern, will end up together as well.
Why is this trilogy still relevant and viewers keep on coming back to these films? Is it their interjectional humor? Or their universal messages? Or maybe this feeling of mystery that surrounds us? And that conviction that there is something bigger than us in our lives?
