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Classic Movie of the Week OnM - May 1, 2002 ******* Such questions... become infinitely more interesting than the questions in simple-minded commercial movies, about whether the hero will kill the bad guys, and drive his car fast, and blow things up, or whether his girlfriend will take off her clothes. Seeing a movie like (this one), we are reminded that watching many commercial films is the cinematic equivalent of reading Dick and Jane. The mysteries of everyday life are so much deeper and more exciting than the contrivances of plots. ............ Roger Ebert ******* Blue, liberty; White, equality; Red, fraternity... We looked very closely at these three ideas, how they functioned in everyday life, but from an individual's point of view. These ideals are contradictory with human nature. When you deal with them practically, you do not know how to live with them. Do people really want liberty, equality, fraternity? ............ Krzysztof Kieslowski ******* As I was driving home from work tonight, I suddenly became aware of the special color of the light. It was about 20 minutes after 8 PM here in southeastern Pennsylvania, and as the sun was preparing to settle down below the horizon that long, graceful wavelength type of light was casting a gracious, moody glow over the street, the houses, the people and whatever else it happened to caress. I've seen this type of light any number of times before, and it always tends to evoke some manner of emotional response. The exact same city street that seems terminally seedy and run-down by the harsh light of midday looks somehow less derelict and more inviting even though it is only the illumination that has changed, not the subject being illuminated. I let my mind detach from the demands of reason, and embraced the moment, because I knew it was one that was short-lived. Light changes fast at dusk, as it does in the early morning scene that mirrors this one in reverse. The clock may count the minutes as if they are all the same, but the moment can be stretched if the soul is willing to be alive in it. Then the reasonable demands begin to return, and I stop at a mini-market a few blocks from home to pick up a few minor items I needed to complete my planned evening repast, and by the time I exited the parking lot a mere five minutes later, the glow was gone, and the mood it had induced along with it. I felt no particular remorse; moments come and moments go. I started the engine of my car, and made my way the last few blocks to home, thinking about an interesting intro for what I was going to write in the movie column tonight. The visual look of this week's Classic Movie might best be described as what would occur if you could take that period of a few brief minutes where some rose-hued light over the world relaxes into realms of possibilities-- and then sustains those effects for a period of days. Real, yet dreamlike. A place where the individual lines of choice and chance bring about a destiny that becomes perfection without ever seeming to actively try to do so. Like, fate happens... Trois couleurs: Rouge, (Three Colors: Red, or more simply as it was released in the US, 'Red'), is the final film in Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy of expressionistic thoughts on the meanings behind the colors of the French flag-- Blue, White and Red. Symbolically, blue is meant to represent 'liberty', white speaks to 'equality' and red to 'fraternity', or 'platonic' love. As Kieslowski aptly ponders in the quote I opened the column with, are these ideals contradictory with human nature? What happens when we try to employ them in our everyday lives? Based on his cinematic efforts, Kieslowski seems to argue that much of what appears to drive our lives from one day to another is really a matter of fate, or chance. We may have a core group of friends, acquaintances and co-workers that we interact with on a daily or regular basis, but how many do they number out of all the other people in the world? People who may live out their entire lives without ever once coming into contact with you or I. Lives that play out in ways that may be parallel or divergent, in ways major or minor. Events that seem unconnected turn out to have deep common roots. The color Red is all about fate, and intersections, and fraternity. It is about blood, and fear, and warmth, and of course passion. The story opens with a phone call made by a young woman named Valentine (Irène Jacob) to her boyfriend. We see the camera follow what appears to be the electronic path of the call until we hear a ring at the other end, and see a man pick up the receiver. But it is not Valentine's boyfriend, nor is it a wrong number. What has actually happened is that there are two seperate phone calls, each taking place at the same exact instant. The camera has tricked us-- the man who has answered is speaking with his girlfriend, who is not Valentine. He is named Auguste (Jean-Pierre Lorit), and is a law student. He lives in an apartment right across the street from Valentine's, but we will soon discover that they have never met one another. From this beginning, it seems reasonable to assume that these two will soon interact and become a part of each other's lives, but Red doesn't follow the obvious course. Instead, we follow Valentine through a day in her life. She is Swiss, a model, her boyfriend is named Michael, and she also takes ballet classes and plays one roll on a slot machine in a cafe nearby her apartment each morning. She seems strangely satisfied to lose this tiny daily game of chance, as if winning would be a bad omen or portent of some kind. She seems to have a certain blend of forthrightness and innocence that mirrors the rosy spectrum of hues that appear all over the screen at regular intervals, some muted, some intense. One night while driving home, and momentarily distracted by trying to tune the radio, she accidentally runs over a dog, but it is only hurt, not killed. Unsure what to do at first, she finds the name and address of the dog's owner on its collar, and after gingerly carrying the injured animal to her car, drives to the owner's home. What she finds when she apologetically confronts the owner shocks her. The man, a retired judge named Joseph Kern (Jean-Louis Trintignant), expresses no particular interest, and suggests that whatever she cares to do is fine with him, including keeping the dog for herself if she so wishes. She takes the dog to the vet; fortunately the injuries are not serious and she subsequently takes the animal home. It seems to bond with her, yet when she takes it for a walk a few days later, it cheerfully runs away. Unable to shake her memory of the strange, lonely-looking old man who seemed so rife with indifference, she takes a chance that the dog may have returned home to him, and so pays another visit. Sure enough, the dog is there. Valentine also discovers that the judge is engaged in the act of eavedropping on his neighbor's telephone conversations. When she appears openly dismayed at this, he invites her to turn him in to the police, or even just walk across the street and inform the man whose conversation with his lover was just overheard by both the judge and Valentine. Baffled yet again at Joseph's apathy, she decides to do just that-- and discovers that all is not quite so simple as it first appears. She returns to visit the judge several more times, her initial repulsion at his behavior replaced with increasing curiosity of what is driving this strange man's psyche. In between, she continues her phone calls to Michael, but we do not see them together, we don't even know if they are going to continue as lovers or not. We are left with the impression that this distance is somehow mutually desirable, that both want to end the relationship, but seek to avoid the 'personal' nature of doing so. Meanwhile, August and his girlfriend Karin (Frédérique Feder) are having troubles of their own. Auguste discovers that Karin is having an affair with another man, and is devastated. He is in the process of becoming a judge himself, but it seems to hardly matter to him in light of his personal loss. These are just a few of the threads that gradually weave themselves into the overall tapestry that is Red. I can't recommend this beautiful, evocative film too highly. While there are a few shared links between it and the first two films of the trilogy, each part can stand completely alone, which seems to be intentional and reinforces Kieslowski's central idea of parallels and intersections and the degree to which chance plays a role in the way events unfold. This movie may be hard to locate at your local video shop, but do make the effort if you can-- this is one of the best movies ever made, anywhere, by anyone. You won't forget it anytime soon, and the next time the light spills long and low over your evening's journey home, this can be one more pleasant association to help your soul expand the moment. Color me fraternal.
E. Pluribus Cinema, Unum, OnM
******* Trois couleurs: Rouge ('Red') is not available on DVD, according to the Internet Movie Database, which is a cryin' shame, sez your humble reviewer, but it is purportedly available on VHS. (The review copy was on laserdisc). The film was released in 1994, and running time is 1 hour and 39 minutes. The original theatrical aspect ratio is 1.85:1, which was preserved on the laserdisc copy, but probably is not on the VHS version, which is an even greater cryin' shame if so, because every square inch of the screen is duly exercised to paint the glorious visuals that go on frame after frame throughout this entire film. Screenwriting credits go to Krzysztof Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz. Cinematography was by Piotr Sobocinski, with film editing by Jacques Witta. Production Design was by Claude Lenoir. Set Decoration was by Pierre Agoston, Paola Andreani, Marc Babel, Jean-Pierre Balsiger, Patrick Flumet, Patrick Lehmann Daniel Mercier, David Stadelmann and Patrick Stoll. (Once you see this film, you'll know why it took all of these people!) Costume Design was by Corinne Jorry. Original music was by Zbigniew Preisner with additional music by Bertrand Lenclos. The theatrical soundtrack mix was in standard Dolby surround. The US release of the film is presented in French with English subtitles. Cast overview:
Irène Jacob .... Valentine Miscellaneous: If you find the general themes Kieslowski is examining in Trois couleurs: Rouge to be as intriguing as I do, you might also wish to check out his earlier film The Double Life of Veronique, or of course the other two 'Colors' in the trilogy. A personal note from your humble movie man: These review-bracketing sections may continue to be a bit on the shortish side until either summer gets here and so reduces my Buffyverse analytical workload, or I finally get a break from my far more annoying Realverse workload, which is equally analytical much of the time, but far, far less fun! (Pays the bills, though, more or less.. ~sigh~.) So hang in there, OK? Odds are I'll be back to normal any year now! (O, ye of little fate...) ******* The Question of the Week: What is your favorite 'mood-inducing' film? You know what I mean, the ones where you leave the theater and find you are carrying with you this sorta 'glowy' feeling, like you just spent the last two hours in some dream-like universe that you were very averse to leave. Post 'em if you've got 'em, dear friends, and I'll see you next week. Take care!
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