The 'Three Colours' Trilogy

The 'Three Colours' Trilogy Synopsis

Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy of films Three Colours: Blue (1993), White (1994), and Red (1994) is widely regarded as a highpoint of European art cinema. An examination of how the ideals of the French Revolution - liberty, equality and fraternity - have meaning in modern life, the trilogy combines visual elegance, narrative complexity, and virtuoso performances to extraordinary effect. In this insightful appreciation of the trilogy, Geoff Andrew analyses how Kieslowski used his command of the cinema to portray his characters' experience of loss and grief, betrayal, relationship breakdown, love and desire, and to chart the way in which their lives are ruled by unseen forces.

For Andrew, the trilogy is a poignant, thrilling hymn to the resilience of compassion in the face of adversity. Tracing the links between the trilogy and Kieslowski's earlier work, he argues that the three films are the summation of Kieslowski's art. This book, which concludes with one of the last interviews Kieslowski ever gave, is a tribute to an exceptional filmmaker.

In his afterword to this new edition, Andrew discusses discuss how responses to the films have developed since their release, their enduring relevance, and also considers changes in the status of the 'art movie' and the auteur director.