Three Colors: White
Encyclopedia
Three Colors: White is a 1994 Polish
mystery
comedy-drama film
co-written, produced, and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
. White is the second in The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals
, following Blue
and preceding Red.
Starting in Paris
, the film depicts Karol Karol, a shy man who, after being left by his wife in humiliating circumstances, loses his money, his residency, and his friends. As a deeply ashamed beggar in Warsaw
, Karol begins his effort to restore equality to his life through revenge
.
This film illustrates the second theme of the Three Colors trilogy, equality
, through the two desires of the protagonist
Karol Karol: improving his station in life, and revenge. In contrast to the introspective, melancholy, and eventually hopeful stories of Blue and Red, White is a black comedy
.
divorce
court where Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski
) is pleading with the judge — the same legal proceedings that Juliette Binoche
's character briefly stumbled upon in Blue. The immigrant Karol, despite his difficulty in understanding French
, is made to understand that his wife Dominique (Julie Delpy
) does not love him. The grounds for divorce are humiliating: Karol was unable to consummate
the marriage. Along with his wife, he loses his means of support (a beauty salon
they jointly owned), his legal residency in France, and the rest of his cash in a series of mishaps, and is soon a beggar. He only retains a 2 Franc
coin.
In a Paris Métro
station, performing songs for spare change, Karol meets and is befriended by another Pole, Mikołaj (Janusz Gajos
). While Karol has lost his wife and his property, Mikołaj is married and successful, he offers Karol a job consisting of killing someone who wants to be dead but does not have enough courage to do it himself. Through a hazardous scheme, Mikołaj helps him return to Poland hidden in the suitcase shown at the beginning of the film, which is later stolen by employees at the airport. He returns to working as a hairdresser
with his brother (Jerzy Stuhr
).Stuhr and Zamachowski also played brothers in the tenth episode of The Decalogue
, likewise a comedy about a money-making scheme.
Karol takes a job as a bodyguard in a seemingly innocent cash exchange office. Mikołaj meets Karol in a Warsaw Metro
tunnel for the execution of the "suicide", it turns out to be that Mikołaj is the intended victim and asks Karol to kill him. Karol shoots a blank
into Mikołaj's chest and asks him if he really wants to go through with it as the next bullet is real. Mikołaj refuses and is able to feel alive again. Using his position as a deceptively foolish bodyguard, Karol spies on his bosses and discovers their scheme to purchase different pieces of land that they knew were going to be targeted by big companies for development and resell for large profits
. Karol beats them to it, and then tells his ex-bosses that if they kill him all his estate
shall go to the Church, and they are therefore forced to purchase all the land from him.
With the money he gained from this scheme and with the payment from Mikołaj, the two go into business (of a vaguely defined but possibly illegal nature) together. Karol becomes ruthlessly ambitious, focusing his energies on money-making schemes while learning French and brooding over his wife's abandonment. He uses his new financial influence in a world where, as several characters observe, "you can buy anything" to execute a complex scheme to first win back Dominique, and then destroy her life by faking his own death after which she is imprisoned for his 'murder'. The final image of the film shows Karol staring at Dominique through the window of her prison cell, while crying.
, mirror the attempts of Poland to advance from its disadvantaged position within Europe.
Like Blue, the film's cinematography makes heavy use of the title colour: the sky is almost always white, and a scene in Poland is filmed in a white snowscape. An explosion of white is also the colour of the long-awaited orgasm. As with the rest of the Three Colors trilogy, White contains numerous images that at first appear unconnected but are revealed to be flashbacks, flash-forwards, or references to other films in the trilogy. In the opening scene in the courthouse, Juliette Binoche
, playing Julie from Blue
, briefly enters the courtroom by accident, as she had been seen doing in the earlier film.
A symbol common to the three films is that of an underlying link or thing that keeps the protagonist linked to his/her past, in the case of White the items that link Karol to his past are a 2 Fr. coin and a plaster bust
of Marianne
that he steals from an antique store in Paris. The first inexplicably sticks to his hand when he tries to throw it away, and he keeps it until he buries it with "his" corpse. In the case of Red the judge never closes or locks his doors and his fountain pen
, which stops working at a crucial point in the story. In the case of Blue
it is a lamp decoration of blue beads and a recurring image of people falling while bungee jumping or sky diving.
A recurring image related to the spirit of the film is that of elderly people recycling bottles; in Three Colors: White, an old man in Paris is trying to recycle a bottle but cannot reach the container and Karol looks at him with a sinister grin on his face (in the spirit of equality). In Three Colors: Blue, an old woman in Paris is recycling bottles and Julie does not notice her (in the spirit of freedom); in Three Colors: Red an old woman cannot reach the hole of the container and Valentine helps her (in the spirit of solidarity).
It has been interpreted as an anti-comedy, in parallel with Blue being an anti-tragedy and Red being an anti-romance.
, while the first and third films hold 100% ratings.
Cinema of Poland
The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as history of cinematography, and it has universal achievements, even though Polish movies tend to be less commercially available than movies from several other European nations....
mystery
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
comedy-drama film
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
co-written, produced, and directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski
Krzysztof Kieslowski
Krzysztof Kieślowski was an Academy Award nominated influential Polish film director and screenwriter, known internationally for The Double Life of Veronique and his film cycles The Decalogue and Three Colors.-Early life:...
. White is the second in The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third...
, following Blue
Three Colors: Blue
Three Colors: Blue is a 1993 French drama film written, produced, and directed by the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Blue is the first of three films that comprise The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; it is...
and preceding Red.
Starting in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, the film depicts Karol Karol, a shy man who, after being left by his wife in humiliating circumstances, loses his money, his residency, and his friends. As a deeply ashamed beggar in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Karol begins his effort to restore equality to his life through revenge
Revenge
Revenge is a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. It is also called payback, retribution, retaliation or vengeance; it may be characterized, justly or unjustly, as a form of justice.-Function in society:Some societies believe that the...
.
This film illustrates the second theme of the Three Colors trilogy, equality
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
, through the two desires of the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Karol Karol: improving his station in life, and revenge. In contrast to the introspective, melancholy, and eventually hopeful stories of Blue and Red, White is a black comedy
Black comedy
A black comedy, or dark comedy, is a comic work that employs black humor or gallows humor. The definition of black humor is problematic; it has been argued that it corresponds to the earlier concept of gallows humor; and that, as humor has been defined since Freud as a comedic act that anesthetizes...
.
Plot
After opening with a brief, seemingly irrelevant scene of a suitcase on an airport carousel, the story quickly focuses on a ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
court where Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski
Zbigniew Zamachowski
Zbigniew Zamachowski is a Polish actor.Zamachowski graduated the actor's faculty in "PWSFTViT" in Łódź. He began his acting career in 1981 and in 1989 had a co-starring role in Part Ten of director Krzysztof Kieślowski's film series, The Decalogue...
) is pleading with the judge — the same legal proceedings that Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
's character briefly stumbled upon in Blue. The immigrant Karol, despite his difficulty in understanding French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, is made to understand that his wife Dominique (Julie Delpy
Julie Delpy
Julie Delpy is a French-American actress, director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, including Europa Europa , The Voyager , Three Colors: White , Before Sunrise...
) does not love him. The grounds for divorce are humiliating: Karol was unable to consummate
Consummation
Consummation is the initial sexual act made within a marriage.Consummation can also refer to:* Consummation , 1970 recordingSee also:* Consummation of days, event predicted in Daniel Chapter 12, verses 1-4...
the marriage. Along with his wife, he loses his means of support (a beauty salon
Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...
they jointly owned), his legal residency in France, and the rest of his cash in a series of mishaps, and is soon a beggar. He only retains a 2 Franc
French franc
The franc was a currency of France. Along with the Spanish peseta, it was also a de facto currency used in Andorra . Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money...
coin.
In a Paris Métro
Paris Métro
The Paris Métro or Métropolitain is the rapid transit metro system in Paris, France. It has become a symbol of the city, noted for its density within the city limits and its uniform architecture influenced by Art Nouveau. The network's sixteen lines are mostly underground and run to 214 km ...
station, performing songs for spare change, Karol meets and is befriended by another Pole, Mikołaj (Janusz Gajos
Janusz Gajos
Janusz Gajos is a Polish actor.He graduated in 1965 from the National Film School in Łódź as one of its best students despite having been rejected during entrance exams for three times. He debuted while he was still in film school in children's film Panienka z okienka in 1964...
). While Karol has lost his wife and his property, Mikołaj is married and successful, he offers Karol a job consisting of killing someone who wants to be dead but does not have enough courage to do it himself. Through a hazardous scheme, Mikołaj helps him return to Poland hidden in the suitcase shown at the beginning of the film, which is later stolen by employees at the airport. He returns to working as a hairdresser
Hairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
with his brother (Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Stuhr
Jerzy Stuhr is one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors. He also works as a screenwriter, film director and drama professor...
).Stuhr and Zamachowski also played brothers in the tenth episode of The Decalogue
The Decalogue
The Decalogue is a 1989 Polish television drama series directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and co-written by Kieślowski with Krzysztof Piesiewicz, with music by Zbigniew Preisner...
, likewise a comedy about a money-making scheme.
Karol takes a job as a bodyguard in a seemingly innocent cash exchange office. Mikołaj meets Karol in a Warsaw Metro
Warsaw Metro
The Warsaw Metro is a rapid transit system serving the city of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It consists of a single north-south line that links central Warsaw with its densely populated northern and southern suburbs. The first section was opened in 1995, then gradually extended until it...
tunnel for the execution of the "suicide", it turns out to be that Mikołaj is the intended victim and asks Karol to kill him. Karol shoots a blank
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
into Mikołaj's chest and asks him if he really wants to go through with it as the next bullet is real. Mikołaj refuses and is able to feel alive again. Using his position as a deceptively foolish bodyguard, Karol spies on his bosses and discovers their scheme to purchase different pieces of land that they knew were going to be targeted by big companies for development and resell for large profits
Flipping
Flipping is a term used primarily in the United States to describe purchasing a revenue-generating asset and quickly reselling it for profit...
. Karol beats them to it, and then tells his ex-bosses that if they kill him all his estate
Estate (law)
An estate is the net worth of a person at any point in time. It is the sum of a person's assets - legal rights, interests and entitlements to property of any kind - less all liabilities at that time. The issue is of special legal significance on a question of bankruptcy and death of the person...
shall go to the Church, and they are therefore forced to purchase all the land from him.
With the money he gained from this scheme and with the payment from Mikołaj, the two go into business (of a vaguely defined but possibly illegal nature) together. Karol becomes ruthlessly ambitious, focusing his energies on money-making schemes while learning French and brooding over his wife's abandonment. He uses his new financial influence in a world where, as several characters observe, "you can buy anything" to execute a complex scheme to first win back Dominique, and then destroy her life by faking his own death after which she is imprisoned for his 'murder'. The final image of the film shows Karol staring at Dominique through the window of her prison cell, while crying.
Cast
- Zbigniew ZamachowskiZbigniew ZamachowskiZbigniew Zamachowski is a Polish actor.Zamachowski graduated the actor's faculty in "PWSFTViT" in Łódź. He began his acting career in 1981 and in 1989 had a co-starring role in Part Ten of director Krzysztof Kieślowski's film series, The Decalogue...
as Karol Karol - Julie DelpyJulie DelpyJulie Delpy is a French-American actress, director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She studied filmmaking at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and has directed, written, and acted in more than 30 films, including Europa Europa , The Voyager , Three Colors: White , Before Sunrise...
as Dominique Vidal - Janusz GajosJanusz GajosJanusz Gajos is a Polish actor.He graduated in 1965 from the National Film School in Łódź as one of its best students despite having been rejected during entrance exams for three times. He debuted while he was still in film school in children's film Panienka z okienka in 1964...
as Mikołaj - Jerzy StuhrJerzy StuhrJerzy Stuhr is one of the most popular, influential and versatile Polish actors. He also works as a screenwriter, film director and drama professor...
as Jurek - Aleksander BardiniAleksander BardiniAleksander Bardini was a Polish theatre and opera director, actor, notable professor at the State Theatre School in Warsaw...
as Le notaire (The Lawyer) - Grzegorz Warchol as L'elégant (The Elegant Man)
- Cezary Harasimowicz as L'inspecteur (The Inspector)
- Jerzy Nowak as La vieux payson (The Old Farmer)
- Jerzy TrelaJerzy TrelaJerzy Trela is a Polish actor. In 2003 he starred in the film An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God under Jerzy Hoffman.During the communist era, he was a deputy in the Sejm.-Honours and awards:...
as Monsieur Bronek
Production
The climax of the film was shot months after the rest of the film, and was intended to soften Dominique's image; Kieślowski has said that he was dissatisfied with the ending shot previously and wanted her to seem less of a monster.Analysis
The film has a political subtext, in which Karol's impotence and financial helplessness in France, and subsequent rise as a somewhat shady capitalistCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
, mirror the attempts of Poland to advance from its disadvantaged position within Europe.
Like Blue, the film's cinematography makes heavy use of the title colour: the sky is almost always white, and a scene in Poland is filmed in a white snowscape. An explosion of white is also the colour of the long-awaited orgasm. As with the rest of the Three Colors trilogy, White contains numerous images that at first appear unconnected but are revealed to be flashbacks, flash-forwards, or references to other films in the trilogy. In the opening scene in the courthouse, Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche
Juliette Binoche is a French actress, artist and dancer. She has appeared in more than 40 feature films, been recipient of numerous international accolades, is a published author and has appeared on stage across the world. Coming from an artistic background, she began taking acting lessons during...
, playing Julie from Blue
Three Colors: Blue
Three Colors: Blue is a 1993 French drama film written, produced, and directed by the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Blue is the first of three films that comprise The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; it is...
, briefly enters the courtroom by accident, as she had been seen doing in the earlier film.
A symbol common to the three films is that of an underlying link or thing that keeps the protagonist linked to his/her past, in the case of White the items that link Karol to his past are a 2 Fr. coin and a plaster bust
Bust (sculpture)
A bust is a sculpted or cast representation of the upper part of the human figure, depicting a person's head and neck, as well as a variable portion of the chest and shoulders. The piece is normally supported by a plinth. These forms recreate the likeness of an individual...
of Marianne
Marianne
Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents the state and values of France, differently from another French cultural symbol, the "Coq Gaulois" which represents France as a nation and its history, land, culture, and variety of sport disciplines in...
that he steals from an antique store in Paris. The first inexplicably sticks to his hand when he tries to throw it away, and he keeps it until he buries it with "his" corpse. In the case of Red the judge never closes or locks his doors and his fountain pen
Fountain pen
A fountain pen is a nib pen that, unlike its predecessor the dip pen, contains an internal reservoir of water-based liquid ink. The pen draws ink from the reservoir through a feed to the nib and deposits it on paper via a combination of gravity and capillary action...
, which stops working at a crucial point in the story. In the case of Blue
Three Colors: Blue
Three Colors: Blue is a 1993 French drama film written, produced, and directed by the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Blue is the first of three films that comprise The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; it is...
it is a lamp decoration of blue beads and a recurring image of people falling while bungee jumping or sky diving.
A recurring image related to the spirit of the film is that of elderly people recycling bottles; in Three Colors: White, an old man in Paris is trying to recycle a bottle but cannot reach the container and Karol looks at him with a sinister grin on his face (in the spirit of equality). In Three Colors: Blue, an old woman in Paris is recycling bottles and Julie does not notice her (in the spirit of freedom); in Three Colors: Red an old woman cannot reach the hole of the container and Valentine helps her (in the spirit of solidarity).
It has been interpreted as an anti-comedy, in parallel with Blue being an anti-tragedy and Red being an anti-romance.
Reception
Three Colors: White was met with critical acclaim by film critics, but is considered by many to be the weakest of the trilogy; it holds a 90% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, while the first and third films hold 100% ratings.
Accolades
- "Silver Bear" Award for Best Director at the Berlin International Film FestivalBerlin International Film FestivalThe Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
See also
This film is second film of trilogy Three Colors.- Trois couleurs: BleuThree Colors: BlueThree Colors: Blue is a 1993 French drama film written, produced, and directed by the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Kieślowski. Blue is the first of three films that comprise The Three Colors Trilogy, themed on the French Revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity; it is...
(1993), first film of trilogy. - Trois couleurs: Blanc (1994), second film of trilogy.
- Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994), final film of trilogy.