Three Colours: White review

 Number 588 on the top 1000 films of all time is the French comedy-drama 'Three Colours White - the middle sibling in Kryzsztof Kieslowski's 'Three Colours' trilogy.

Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is a Polish immigrant living in France whose wife Dominique (Julie Delphy) is divorcing him. He resolves to improve his life and exact revenge on his ex-wife.

Of the Three Colours trilogy, I would say this is my favourite. All three films have their own emotional nadirs, but this one seemed to resonate the most. Three Colours: White is named because like in some films, it follows the tricolour of the French flag and that qualities each colour represents. These different qualities link the film thematically - in this case equality - although you can argue freedom/liberation are present too.

Karol Karol begins as a most pathetic man - a man being divorced by his wife due to his own impotence. The fact he seems sympathetic makes him even more pathetic. After Dominique invokes divorce proceedings and frames him for an arson attack on their shared-owned salon, he becomes a beggar in Paris. Although he goes through self-pity at first, he soon meets fellow Polish immigrant Mikolai (Janusz Gajos) who galvanises him into taking action.

Although there's nothing wrong with going through hard times, it's never being round somebody who's always feeling sorry for themselves so I enjoyed seeing turn from an omega male into - maybe not alpha, but perhaps delta? Metaphors aside, it was enjoyable seeing him regain his confidence and his standing in society, which becomes much easier once he returns to Poland.

Zbigniew was very good in the role and displayed all of the different aspects of the character well. I also enjoyed Julie Delphy as his estranged wife Dominique. She is perhaps best known to international audience for her work in the excellent Before Trilogy, but she was equally good in this antagonistic role.

If I were to criticise anything, it would be the ending. I won't spoil anything, but suffice to say, it seems that Karol and Dominique are on the brink of reconciliation. Considering Karol spends much of the film getting back at his wife, it's strange that by the film's conclusion he is trying to get back with his wife.

That notwithstanding I've finally completed the Three Colours trilogy. White is definitely my favourite.

Doctor Zhivago review

 Number 316 on the top 1000 films of all time is David Lean's epic historical-romance 'Doctor Zhivago.'

Doctor Zhivago (Omar Sharif) is a physician during the Russian revolution. Although he is married to Tonya ( Geraldine Chaplin,) he soon falls in love with Lara (Julie Christie.) When the civil war tears them apart, fate throws them back together again.

We have returned to my favourite genre of film: period/historical dramas. That was sarcasm. As you know well by now, I hate period dramas. They're just so boring.

Doctor Zhivago wasn't quite in the top ten films to put you to sleep - that honour goes to Gone with the Wind or even David Lean's other historical epic 'Lawrence of Arabia - but it was still pretty close. Biopics or character dramas like Doctor Zhivago tend to be vague and unfocussed. They tell far too much story in far too much time.

Doctor Zhivago was no exception tot his. It introduces Doctor Zhivago and we follow him through his life until *spoilers* his death. Surely, some of this could have been edited out. Then the film wouldn't have been over three hours long. It had no business being that long. Never mind bloated, this film was so pregnant, it was about to give birth.

Having said that, Omar Sharif was very good as our titular protagonist especially when the Communist protestors are massacred by the mounted Cossacks. He can only watch in horror, as his people are mown down.

Doctor Zhivago also won five Oscars including best cinematography, art direction and costume design. These were well-earned as the cinematography was brilliant especially all the desolate, Russian landscapes. The costumes were also brilliant. You can see how hard they tried to get everything right.

That notwithstanding, I didn't enjoy Doctor Zhivago. It was a bloated, over-long affair.

Before Sunrise review

 Number 239 on the top 1000 films of all time is the romantic drama 'Before Sunrise.'

Jesse (Ethan Hawke) is a young, American man backpacking through Europe. On a train from Vienna, he meets the French lady Celine (Julie Delphy) and the two instantly hit it off. They spontaneously decide to spend the night together in Vienna, knowing that at sunrise, they will go their separate ways, unlikely to ever see each other again.

Generally, I'm not a fan of romance films. They can be either overly-sentimental or overly depressing. But Before Sunrise pleasantly surprised me. It was funny, uplifting and wonderfully understated. As can be expected with romances, a lot of the film hinges on the leading couple. If the actors don't have chemistry together, this will visibly translate to the screen. But I thought that Hawke and Delphy were great together. I've seen Hawke in Training Day and Lord of War, so I know he is a credible action star. But he was also likable and charismatic as Jesse. Julie Delphy was also charming as Celine. She brought a hopeful optimism to Jesse's cold cynicism.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Richard Lintlaker's subtle direction. It is left up to the audience to decide whether Jesse and Celine sleep together or not. This is never depicted on-screen. But in so many other films, it seems like a pre-requisite to have a gratuitous graphic sex scene that does nothing for the plot. You might expect this in romances, but not in dramas. Yet it happens almost all the time. Lintlaker's decision to let the audience make up their own minds was a refreshing take and added well to the fairytale aspect of the film.

And, in many ways, this is a fairytale. It is embedded in a the fantasy of a holiday, whirlwind romance. this can be reality for some people, but, at times, it leant into incredulity. I haven't been to Vienna, so I don't know whether this is the case, but are there really beatniks smoking by the river in the dead of night ready to write poetry for whoever is ready to pay them?

*Spoiler alert* And the film ends on a lovely, uplifting note. When it comes time for Jesse and Celine to say goodbye in the train station where Celine is going home to Paris, they vow not to write or call each other, but to meet at the station in six months time. As it is a romance, you would expect a happily ever after, but it was difficult to see how this could transpire. I was expecting a final twist in the tail that would spoil things.

Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed Before Sunrise. It lacked the sentimentality you would expect from many romances. And Ethan Hawke and Julie Delphy were great together.