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.

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.