What It’s About:
The wife of a famous composer, Julie (Binoche) plunges into despair after surviving a car crash that kills her husband and young daughter. She cuts ties with her past life, relocating to Paris and leading an anonymous existence. Eventually she contacts Olivier (Regent), a close associate of her husband who may want to complete his unfinished piece. When Julie discovers via Olivier that her spouse had a mistress (Pernel), she begins to re-examine the past she thought she knew, and just perhaps, chart some kind of future.
Why We Love It:
The first entry in late director Kieslowski’s “Three Colors” trilogy, this provocative, multi-layered study tracking one woman’s voyage through grief is predictably grim in spots, but Kieslowski’s brilliant script and direction elevate the proceedings, along with a stunning turn from Binoche in the central role. Julie’s approach to coping with tragedy involves no fixed plan, but a tentative, searching process, and Binoche makes us want to stay with her all the way. Both she and the film received Golden Globe nominations, and she actually won the Cesar (French Oscar) for this. Love is “Blue” indeed.