Three Colors: Red by Krzysztof Kieślowski (Review)

My second favorite movie of the “Three Colours” trilogy, Red is not without its weaknesses.
Three Colors: Red, Krzysztof Kieślowski

My second favorite movie of the “Three Colours” trilogy, Red is not without its weaknesses. Of the three, it has the strongest visual flair, using the color red and visual tricks to draw in the viewer.

The movie follows a Valentine, a young model who gets drawn into the life of an old judge after she runs over his dog. She discovers that he is a lonely old man who enjoys spying on other people’s phonecalls. Valentine slowly draws the judge out of his shell and he soon begins confiding in her. Unfortunately, I was expecting something more.

Much of the conversations between the judge and Valentine seemed to hint at something more, some great metaphysical revelation that never came. Perhaps this was supposed to be played out in the character of a young judge whom we see throughout the movie, who often seems to be imitating the life of the old judge. Unfortunately, this angle of the movie just didn’t feel played out like it could’ve been.

The conclusion of the movie is interesting in that it tries to tie all three movies together, but it’s a tenuous conclusion. In fact, that word “tenuous” describes my overall appreciation of the entire trilogy.

Enjoy reading Opus? Want to support my writing? Become a subscriber for just $5/month or $50/year.
Subscribe Today
Return to the Opus homepage