a review of 蓝白红三部曲之蓝

Last time I watched Trois Couleurs: Bleu was not long after it was released. I remembered practically nothing anymore, so it didn't leave a lasting impression. Seeing the film again, thirty years later, I realize why it didn't leave much of an impression last time. The film suffers a bit from form over function, I felt detached from the characters, and didn't feel the emotions they should elicit. Some degree of arty pretentiousness was perceptible in Trois Couleurs: Bleu. It felt as if the director's prime directive was to celebrate Juliette Binoche's magnetic screen presence with atmospheric cinematography. He succeeded in that.