OK, so I finished (yet again) Krzisztof Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy when I watched Red the other night. Many people consider it the greatest of the three films, although I don't know if I would sign off on it being better than Blue. That said, I think I like it more with every viewing. It was Kieslowski's final film, which gives it a tremendous weight. He announced while finishing it that he was done, and he died only a couple years later. It's sort of like hitting a grand slam in your final at bat to win the World Series, except that he directed so many extraordinary films. I'm already queueing up The Double Life of Veronique as well as all ten installments of Decalogue. Since we've moved on to the red portion of the French flag it's not surprising that the theme is fraternity, or in this case the odd friendship between Valentine Dussaut (wonderfully played by the ethereal Irene Jacob) and Joseph Kern (another great performance from Jean-Louis Trintignant). It's strange to think that recently I watched Il
Saporro, which was one of his first films. Here is a much older man, a retired judge who has given up on life while eavesdropping on his neighbors. His unexpected friendship with Valentine brings him back to the world. The ending ties up not only Red, but the other two films in the trilogy as well. Simply filmmaking at its best. Obviously, required viewing. I was reminded of the story of Van den Budenmayer, the mythical Dutch composer who is referenced in Red, Blue, and an episode of Decalogue - and who was made up by Kieslowski and his long-time composer Zbigniew Preisner simply because they both loved Holland. The fact that I know that clearly means that I watch too many movies.
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