Dir: Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1994 France/Poland/Switzerland, French with English subtitles, 99 minutes, Cert: 15
-
Wed 26 April 2023 // 20:00
Tickets: £5 (full)
Nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Director), Kieślowski’s magnificent final feature, an astonishing affirmation of life and art, brings his Three Colors trilogy to its conclusion.
Red is a tale of parallel lives and interwoven destinies and draws connecting threads with the two previous films. Valentine, a Swiss model, runs over a dog belonging to a retired judge. She discovers that he uses his amateur radio equipment to eavesdrop on his neighbours’ phone conversations. He urges Valentine to denounce him if her conscience commands.
Meanwhile, a young lawyer studying for his final exams is unaware that his girlfriend, a weather forecaster, is unfaithful. The student and Valentine live in the same suburban street and pass each other daily but have never met. Their paths cross and re-cross in a weft of portent, coincidence and unrecognised sign. Red encompasses fraternity.
Superbly acted, photographed and scored, it is the most complex film of the three and echoes distinctive grace notes which span an entire career.
Krzysztof Kieślowski's award-winning trilogy explores the French Revolutionary ideals of freedom, equality and brotherhood, and their relevance to the contemporary world. It is a snapshot of European life at a time of reconstruction after the Cold War, reflected through the filmmaker's moralist view of human nature and illuminated by each title's palette colour.