Rating: 
Summary: Clever and pretty
Review: Some of this is not done in a very convincing manner, and there's enough hokum to please a sit-com producer, but as far as tricky plot twists and original story ideas goes, this gets an A+.
Premise: Little Polish guy living in Paris, an adorable and prize-winning hair dresser, is divorced by his beautiful French wife, whom he loves passionately, because he can't...perform, or at least can't perform long enough. She is unhappy with him, VERY unhappy. She takes everything from him but a trunk and even calls the gendarmes and tells them he is burning down what is now her salon after he fails her one last time. I guess this is the ultimate fury from a woman scorned, although he sure wishes he wasn't scorning her.
He ends up on his knees in the Metro playing his comb for francs to get enough to eat. Then he arranges to get sent back to Poland in a trunk. After some mishaps he makes his fortune. It would be unfair to reveal anymore of the plot since it is so, so clever... But the "white" of the title is for a Polish dinner roll and the snow of Poland and for sheets of legal paper and for the white walls of new enterprises and especially for the white light of her orgasm.
Julie Delpy, who plays the very frustrated wife, is pretty enough to go to extremes for, and Zbigniew Zamachowski who plays the lead, is convincing in a role that borders on the silly. Memorable for his sly portrayal of a bored-with-life, bridge-playing professional is Janusz Gajos.
This is the second in the "Trois Couleurs" trilogy by Polish/French director Krzysztof Kieslowski. I have seen both "Red" and "Blue," and I would rate this one a little behind those two very excellent films. Nonetheless, this is a film very much worth seeing.
Rating:
Summary: Clever
Review: Some of this is not done in a very convincing manner, and there's enough hokum to please a sit-com producer, but in the area of tricky plot twists and original story ideas this gets an A+.Premise: Little Polish guy living in Paris, an adorable and prize-winning hair dresser, is divorced by his beautiful French wife, whom he loves passionately, because he can't...perform, or at least can't perform long enough. She is unhappy with him, VERY unhappy. She takes everything from him but a trunk and even calls the gendarmes and pretends he is burning down what is now her salon after he fails her one last time. I guess this is the ultimate fury from a woman scorned, although he sure wishes he wasn't scorning her. He ends up on his knees in the Metro playing his comb for francs to get enough to eat. Then he arranges to get sent back to Poland in the trunk. After some mishaps he makes his fortune. It would be unfair to reveal anymore of the plot since it is so, so clever... But the "white" of the title is for a Polish dinner roll and the snow of Poland and for sheets of legal paper and for the white walls of new enterprises and especially for the white light of her orgasm. Julie Delpy, who plays the very frustrated wife, is pretty enough to go to extremes for, and Zbigniew Zamachowski who plays the lead, is convincing in a role that borders on the silly. Memorable for his sly portrayal of a bored-with-life, bridge-playing professional is Janusz Gajos. This is the second in the "Trois Couleurs" trilogy by Polish cum French director Krzysztof Kieslowski. I have seen both "Red" and "Blue," and I would rate this one a little behind those two very excellent films.
Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful film on love, revenge and love agian.
Review: This film is a romp compared to Blue and Red. It's filled with slapstick, desperation, tenderness and friendship. It's worth seeing for two of the most sublime moments I've ever seen on film: When Karol Karol shoots his friend with a blank in the abandoned subway and the pantomine scene at the end of the movie. Beautiful.
Rating:
Summary: A film of love & divorce, life & death
Review: This film is the second in Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois Couleurs" trilogy ("Blue," "White," and "Red," after the colors of the French flag). While it contains some quite surprising plot twists, overall it doesn't have the same emotional impact as the first and last movies do. Zbigniew Zamachowski plays Karol Karol, a Polish immigrant living in Paris with his wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy). As the film opens, Karol and Dominique are in divorce court; she wants the divorce, he doesn't. She wins, and he is left with nothing but a large suitcase -- in which he manages to send himself back to Poland, with unexpected results. While white is traditionally the color of marriage, in this film it is the color of divorce. Throughout the movie the sky is a bleak, almost colorless shade of white, reflecting Karol's mood. The divorce proceedings take place in a white marble courtyard, and after the hearing Dominique drives away in a white car. When Karol returns to Poland, the countryside is buried under a layer of snow. More than that, the color symbolizes the sterility of their marriage: Dominique's grounds for divorce are that the marriage has never been consummated. For the rest of the film, Karol struggles to rebuild his life and to win back Dominique. The movie is enjoyable, with highly original subplots. The actors turn in fine performances, and the direction (as one would expect from Kieslowski) is intriguing without being heavy-handed. However, for a film that focuses on such emotional topics as love and death, it fails to rouse intense emotions in the viewer. END
Rating:
Summary: A film of love & divorce, life & death
Review: This film is the second in Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Trois Couleurs" trilogy ("Blue," "White," and "Red," after the colors of the French flag). While it contains some quite surprising plot twists, overall it doesn't have the same emotional impact as the first and last movies do. Zbigniew Zamachowski plays Karol Karol, a Polish immigrant living in Paris with his wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy). As the film opens, Karol and Dominique are in divorce court; she wants the divorce, he doesn't. She wins, and he is left with nothing but a large suitcase -- in which he manages to send himself back to Poland, with unexpected results. While white is traditionally the color of marriage, in this film it is the color of divorce. Throughout the movie the sky is a bleak, almost colorless shade of white, reflecting Karol's mood. The divorce proceedings take place in a white marble courtyard, and after the hearing Dominique drives away in a white car. When Karol returns to Poland, the countryside is buried under a layer of snow. More than that, the color symbolizes the sterility of their marriage: Dominique's grounds for divorce are that the marriage has never been consummated. For the rest of the film, Karol struggles to rebuild his life and to win back Dominique. The movie is enjoyable, with highly original subplots. The actors turn in fine performances, and the direction (as one would expect from Kieslowski) is intriguing without being heavy-handed. However, for a film that focuses on such emotional topics as love and death, it fails to rouse intense emotions in the viewer. END
Rating:
Summary: Is There Equality?
Review: Three Colors: White is followed by Three Colors: Blue, which makes this the second film in the trilogy. This sequel depicts the national French motto equality through a relationship between a married couple where the French wife Dominique (Julie Delpy) files for divorce in the Parisian court, as a consequence of the husbands, Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), inept sexual performance the marriage. In a court where Karol can barely communicate in French, the court rules on Dominique's behalf, which leaves Karol on the street with nothing but his diploma and a suitcase of clothes. Karol finds that he still has the keys to the hair salon that they have together, but Dominique dictates everything due to the courts ruling. This leaves Karol with next to nothing, however, Karol decides to go back to Poland inside a suitcase with a bust that he has seen in a store. When he arrives to Poland he finds himself in a dump where he is beaten up and robbed by thieves and thugs, which leaves him with nothing but a broken statue of a woman's head and shoulders. Kieslowski tells a wonderful story about a mans great inequality that takes the audience hostage as the story unfolds leaving the audience to ponder the dilemma of equality.
Rating:
Summary: Is There Equality?
Review: Three Colors: White is followed by Three Colors: Blue, which makes this the second film in the trilogy. This sequel depicts the national French motto equality through a relationship between a married couple where the French wife Dominique (Julie Delpy) files for divorce in the Parisian court, as a consequence of the husbands, Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), inept sexual performance the marriage. In a court where Karol can barely communicate in French, the court rules on Dominique's behalf, which leaves Karol on the street with nothing but his diploma and a suitcase of clothes. Karol finds that he still has the keys to the hair salon that they have together, but Dominique dictates everything due to the courts ruling. This leaves Karol with next to nothing, however, Karol decides to go back to Poland inside a suitcase with a bust that he has seen in a store. When he arrives to Poland he finds himself in a dump where he is beaten up and robbed by thieves and thugs, which leaves him with nothing but a broken statue of a woman's head and shoulders. Kieslowski tells a wonderful story about a mans great inequality that takes the audience hostage as the story unfolds leaving the audience to ponder the dilemma of equality.
Rating:
Summary: Stark "White"
Review: White can be pure or empty, bleak or beautiful. And "White" is also the second volume of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors Trilogy," a witty and sharp tragicomedy about revenge. It's also the weak point hanging between the melancholy "Blue" and vibrant "Red," with its less likable characters and more unbelievable plotline. Hairdresser Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is being coldly divorced by his beautiful wife Dominique (Julie Delpy) because she is sexually dissatisfied with him. She also strips him of his money and possessions, leaving him playing pitiful music at the subways. What's more, she rubs it in his face that she's now having sex with other men. Things can't get worse, right? Wrong: Karol goes back to Poland and ends up getting beaten up and robbed. Via some not-so-legal methods, Karol builds himself an impressive fortune and becomes determined to get back at his cold, manipulative ex-wife. Amid a web of killing, seduction and faked death, Karol finds the perfect method to bring Dominique down... "White" is certainly a successful black comedy -- it's sort of weirdly, freakily funny. Unfortunately, it's also the weakest of Kieslowski's "Colors" movies -- some of the plot devices seem too unbelievable (like Karol shipping himself in a trunk), and the tricks and twists of the plot are a little too much to swallow. However, the twisted love/hate relationship between Dominique and Karol is fascinating, and Karol's revenge is devilishly clever for what seems like a nice, goofy little man. White is the color of wedding dresses and various other marriage-related things. But here, it's nothing so nice: an anti-color, a space where color isn't. It's snow, it's emptiness, it's colorless, it's passionless. Kieslowski's black comedy is sprinkled with white -- white cars, white skies, white marble, white snow. There's less grace in Kieslowski's direction, but the images he creates are still breathtakingly pretty and subtle. (The "sign language" scene is evidence enough) Zamachowski has an underrated turn as Karol Karol. He seems like a nice, sweet guy who takes one kick in the teeth after another, kind of like a lost puppy. In a word: Loser. In another word: Wimp. Then he shows his dark side -- one that, on the outside, nobody would think Karol had. And Delpy does a lovely job making Dominique into a malicious schemer, without making her two-dimensionally nasty. This droll dark comedy is a bit flawed, but it shows Kieslowski's unmistakable style and wit, and the acting is nearly impeccable. Call it a portrait in "White."
Rating:
Summary: Stark "White"
Review: White can be pure or empty, bleak or beautiful. And "White" is also the second volume of Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors Trilogy," a witty and sharp tragicomedy about revenge. It's also the weak point hanging between the melancholy "Blue" and vibrant "Red," with its less likable characters and more unbelievable plotline. Hairdresser Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is being coldly divorced by his beautiful wife Dominique (Julie Delpy) because she is sexually dissatisfied with him. She also strips him of his money and possessions, leaving him playing pitiful music at the subways. What's more, she rubs it in his face that she's now having sex with other men. Things can't get worse, right? Wrong: Karol goes back to Poland and ends up getting beaten up and robbed. Via some not-so-legal methods, Karol builds himself an impressive fortune and becomes determined to get back at his cold, manipulative ex-wife. Amid a web of killing, seduction and faked death, Karol finds the perfect method to bring Dominique down... "White" is certainly a successful black comedy -- it's sort of weirdly, freakily funny. Unfortunately, it's also the weakest of Kieslowski's "Colors" movies -- some of the plot devices seem too unbelievable (like Karol shipping himself in a trunk), and the tricks and twists of the plot are a little too much to swallow. However, the twisted love/hate relationship between Dominique and Karol is fascinating, and Karol's revenge is devilishly clever for what seems like a nice, goofy little man. White is the color of wedding dresses and various other marriage-related things. But here, it's nothing so nice: an anti-color, a space where color isn't. It's snow, it's emptiness, it's colorless, it's passionless. Kieslowski's black comedy is sprinkled with white -- white cars, white skies, white marble, white snow. There's less grace in Kieslowski's direction, but the images he creates are still breathtakingly pretty and subtle. (The "sign language" scene is evidence enough) Zamachowski has an underrated turn as Karol Karol. He seems like a nice, sweet guy who takes one kick in the teeth after another, kind of like a lost puppy. In a word: Loser. In another word: Wimp. Then he shows his dark side -- one that, on the outside, nobody would think Karol had. And Delpy does a lovely job making Dominique into a malicious schemer, without making her two-dimensionally nasty. This droll dark comedy is a bit flawed, but it shows Kieslowski's unmistakable style and wit, and the acting is nearly impeccable. Call it a portrait in "White."
Rating:
Summary: The weak link in Kieslowski's fascinating trilogy
Review: White is the transitional film in Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy, falling between the magnificent Blue and the masterpiece that is Red. Julie Delpy turns in her best performance as the icy Dominique, who has divorced her Polish husband who has become impotent. The husband devises a plan of revenge against his wife, and the result is the film's best moment. The enigmatic closing scene gives the film a more sinister aspect than expected. Although not as good as the other two films in the trilogy, White is beautifully shot and contains a beautiful musical score. Watch for Juliette Binoche's blink and you'll miss it cameo in the divorce court. You'll have to watch Blue to see why Binoche's character is in the courthouse. Then watch Red's clever finale to see what has become of all the characters in the trilogy.
|
