Arts

Blue, White and Red

It's the time of year when the world's entertainment press are in Cannes. The film festival opened today, to much fanfare.

And already I'm bored of hearing how Quentin Tarantino is President of the Jury this year, of how ten years ago his Pulp Fiction scooped the Palme d'Or.

I'm seeking an alternative. I think I've found it.

The film that most people expected to win the Palme d'Or back in 1994 is my favourite film of all time: Rouge, the closing chapter in Krzysztof Kieslowski's Trois Couleurs trilogy.

Some say Red lost in Cannes because the jury didn't want the trilogy to take top awards at three European festivals. (Bleu had already won the Lione d'Oro in Venice; Blanc was awarded the Silberner Bär in Berlin.)

I'm not sure I believe that claim, but I'd say ten years later it's clear which is the better film.

Tonight then I'm going to watch Three Colours Blue. Tomorrow I'll watch White and Friday, Red. The films are in French, but I've seen them so many times I don't need the subtitles. (I don't want them either. I want to see the full picture.)

Each film stands alone, with no direct links to the others. Each tackles a single idea, most commonly said to be liberty, equality and fraternity. Together they combine to be more powerful than a simple tricouleur.

These sublime films speak directly to the soul.

So soon I start with blue: liberty. What is freedom? What keeps us bound? It's a film you could open another festival with.