Good concept, poorly executed.

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I feel I've discovered something profound by learning of Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy of films in 'Three Colors'. It's virtually impossible to find a completely original concept in movies today, yet the Polish director has achieved something in his work that creates a long lasting impression. 'Blue' establishes it's theme of liberty through loss early in the story, as we follow the post-accident life of the picture's protagonist Julie Vignon (Juliette Binoche), as she tries to cope with the loss of a husband and young daughter. Julie goes to the extreme of selling off all her possessions and moving to the city where she can live alone and escape her memories, along with friends and lovers who no longer have any meaning for her. This life of self imposed solitary confinement will not last long, as the kind hearted young woman finds it impossible not to come to the aid of others in distress or turmoil. I found this to be a strangely fascinating film experience. The theme of 'blue' repetitively appears throughout the story - the blue room that Julie orders emptied at the family home, the crystal strands of the mobile she takes with her to the city, the blue lollipop and wrapper, and the swimming pool she takes laps in to relieve her innate stress at being alive. I'm wondering if there's some hidden symbolism with the pool; Julie never laps it lengthwise, she only swims from one side to the other. I was also very curious about the scene where Julie observes three (three again) thugs beating up a man who gets away and seeks refuge in her apartment building. One expects that she come to the man's aid, but instead she's locked out of her apartment for the night, and the man is nowhere to be found. This appears to be a Kieslowski trademark of introducing characters in his films that are unconnected to the main theme, and wind up superfluous to the story. Not exactly a maguffin or a red herring, but a uniquely different kind of creative touch that one doesn't experience in other movies. I began watching these films out of order, having already seen "Three Colors:Red", but not commenting on it until I've seen the director's 'Blue' and 'White' movies to see if there's a connecting thread. It seems implicit, while other reviewers make note of elements that come together by the final installment. Though 'Red' seems to stand alone well enough by itself with no recurring characters, I did pick up on a hint in 'Blue', and will have to see how the thread plays out. So more on that at a later time.

The French movie Trois couleurs: Bleu was shown in the U.S. with the title Three Colors: Blue (1993). It was written and directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski. (It's one of the Three Colors trilogy by director Kieslowski. The other two are Three Colors: White with Julie Delpy, and Three Colors: Red with Irène Jacob.)The film opens with a tragic accident. Julie Vignon (Juliette Binoche) is riding in a car with her husband and young daughter when the brakes fail and the car smashes into a tree. Her husband and daughter are killed. Julie is seriously injured, but survives.This isn't only a personal tragedy; it's a national tragedy as well. Julie's husband is a famous composer, and he was in the midst of creating a major piece of music that would celebrate the possibility of a united Europe.The rest of the movie shows us how Julie copes with her new life situation, and her possible love in the person of her husband's colleague Olivier, played by Benoît Régent. Binoche is at the center of the film. She is the sun around which all the other characters revolve. I don't know if the movie would have worked with a different actor in the role.Binoche is outstanding. We know she's outstanding. She knows she's outstanding. Most important, director Kieslowski knows she's outstanding. She's in almost every scene, and, in almost every scene, she's front and center. That's because Kieslowski can't take his eyes --or his camera--away from her.Binoche is beautiful, but in a unique way. Some of her contemporary French female actors--Anne Parillaud, Emmanuelle Béart--are classically beautiful. However, Binoche is beautiful in her own strong, intelligent way. OK--as my wife pointed out, her cheekbones have cheekbones. Still, she's not standard "movie star" beautiful. She's a great actor who happens to be very attractive. It's a wonderful combination.We saw this film at the excellent Dryden Theatre at George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It was shown as part of the "Three Colors: Remembering Krzysztof Kieslowski" series. It was great to see the movie on the large screen, but it will work almost as well on the small screen. This is a "must see" film for people who love French cinema. Even if you don't love French cinema, seek it out and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

I cannot be sure that Kieslowski cared much for the script of this film; otherwise he would not have made this 2-act film drawn out into the length of a 4-act. The symbols are there, elegantly shot perhaps, but not elegantly placed; the black screens and musical outbursts are overdone and obtrusive, to say the least. And when the widow, (shall we call her Ms. Blue? I don't remember her name) Ms. Blue, is given the cue for reflection (such as when waiting in the dark for an entire minute, deliberating on whether to open her apartment door to check on the remnants of a street fight), the actress "reflects" well -- but to what end? We get the feeling that Kieslowski is making a feature film from the pieces of a short film (what would be a fantastic short film!) and must slather a coat of cinematic, slow "art house" "reflective" paint over the missing pieces to hit a 80+ minute running time. Perhaps to make the film eligible for awards.It is a wonderful film, especially visually; unforgettable are the ultramarine swimming pool and a sugar cube absorbing coffee. But sugar cubes and swimming pools alone don't make for a feature film. The dramatic weight just isn't there, and the freshness of the visuals certainly don't mend the paucity.

Julie Vignon has lost her husband and child in an accident. The film tells about the new history of her life after the accident, in the meeting of symbolic objects, people and places.Probably I have quite of an enmity against slow-rhythm movies, and that's why I wasn't able to appreciate this at all. Then, if you do like pointless visual photography (by the way, what the hell did go wrong with Kieslowski and the cups of coffee?), illogical characters making illogical actions, please go ahead, this movie is perfect for you. Otherwise you should try something else.In synthesis, I won't say that this movie is bad because a lot of people seem to have found it visionary, I will rather say is not the right movie for my personal taste.