Emerging from the Cocoon in Three Colours: Blue
A double-edged sword.
Blue is the color of despondence. The color of sadness. The color of grief. But Krzystof Kieślowski elects to frame it in a different light. To use it as a parable for the French ideal of liberation. Something codified in their revolution and put on display in the Three Colours trilogy.
Juliette Binoche’s Julie de Courcy walks the line of these two realities after the death of her husband and daughter. She, as would be expected, is struck by grief for much of the film’s first two acts. Choosing to abandon her life, sell her possessions, and, most importantly, destroy her husband’s last unfinished work: a chorus for the unity of Europe. There is something almost nationalistic in her sentiment. To destroy something meant to bring together the nations of Europe. But it is not born out of a selfish desire but rather the feeling that Europe may have not earned her husband’s brilliance.
She moves into an apartment far from her home in the valley, only keeping a blue lamp from her daughter’s bedroom to remind her of her past. She spends her days in solitude. Little is said but much is accomplished by Binoche in these moments of silence. A testament to her prowess in this role.
Throughout the film, there are suggestions that Julie may have had more influence over her husband’s work than was let on. But it is not until she learns of his affair that this theory is put at the forefront of the piece.
The affair breaths new life into Julie. She is no longer shackled by her grief. She is liberated from the confines of her husband’s awe-inspiring shadow and free to continue his work. From here, she works to complete the piece her husband began. Showing ease of thought and execution. It is only when her husband’s partner (and her lover after his passing) decides to complete the piece himself that this dream is derailed. The film ends with a chorus that has been repeated throughout the film. It is a piece written as part of composer Sławomir Idziak’s moving score that had been altered to reflect the tone and movement of each scene. It suggests that Julie was able to complete the concert and that her liberation has now been sealed. She is the true voice of Europe.
