Bleu

I just saw the movie Bleu (1993) -- it is one of the Trois Couleurs films, with the other two being Rouge and Blanc. It was directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski and it stars Juliette Binoche. I thought it was really beautiful... it had a predictabley French feeling of taking itself very seriously, but in general it was artistic enough to pull it off. I'm always sort fo fascinated by the dialogue in French films... there is this sort of bald honesty to the conversations that makes me wonder whether French people really actually talk to one another like that. My experience has been that they do, but my experience is really limited.

The main character is the wife of a very famous composer, and the film opens with the death of the composer and their daughter. I would say that main theme of the film was the signficance of fidelity and intimacy for artistic production -- it is clear from the beginning that Julie, the main character, has been working with her husband very closely as he composes, but with little or no credit. As she deals with his death, she also comes to terms with herself as an artist.

For those of you who have seen this film, do you think that the main character's artistic identity is suppressed by her marriage, and do you think that his death is a liberation of sorts for her as an individual? I'm torn, because I think you could understand her relationship with her husband, and the intimacy and secrecy of that artistic relationship, as a crucial and loving part of her self-understanding as an artist. But it's hard not to see that very same relationship as somewhat exploitative as the events of the film unfold. Hmmmm....