A young model forms an unusual friendship with a retired judge.
This is the final installment of the trilogy created by Kieslowski and co-writer Krzysztof Piesiewicz. For background information on the series please see the earlier entry for the screening of BLUE
After shooting the first installment in Paris, and the second mostly in Warsaw, Kieslowski arrives at neutral ground to close out his trilogy by setting the final story in Zurich, Switzerland. The color red was chosen to represent the final word of the French Revolution's slogan, "fraternity", and explores two romantic relationships as well as a friendship between two people from different generations. On another thematic level relating to the European Reunification, the film highlights the act of communication, shown specifically here through telephones.
Kieslowski also returns to favorite existential themes; interconnectedness and the idea of fate vs. chance, ideas very much in the forefront of his earlier film The Double Life of Veronique. That film's star Irene Jacob reunites with the director on this film, and is joined by veteran actor Jean-Louis Trintignant (best known for Bernardo Bertolucci's The Conformist. Other returning collaborators include composer Zbigniew Preisner, and cinematographer Piotr Sobociński, the latter having shot an episode of Kieslowski's Decalogue miniseries.
The character of the old judge who at times appears omniscient is viewed by some critics as Kieslowski inserting himself into the narrative, perhaps in an effort to put a personal stamp on the summation of the trilogy, and as a counter to the naivete and relative innocence of its lead female character. The camerawork is also more dynamic than in the previous two films, the director's desire to conclude in grand, operatic fashion hard to ignore.
Red premiered at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and while it went home empty-handed, Quentin Tarantino (whose Pulp Fiction took the highest honor that year) thought it the best film in competition. It won Best Foreign Language Film honors from every major critic's organization, and in a rare occurrence for a foreign film, received Academy Award nominations for Direction, Original Screenplay, and Cinematography.
Kieslowski announced after the film's release that he was going to retire from directing, though he and Piesiewicz had begun
writing a new trilogy of films inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy. Sadly, in 1996 he died of a heart attack at age 54. Despite his relatively short film career and brief notoriety, he is regarded as one of cinema's modern masters.
Running time is approx. 100 minutes.
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