White

White (1994) is the second film in Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Three Colors" trilogy. A sequel not in plot but in thematic exploration, White focuses on the theme of equality, the analog of the color white on the French national flag.

We start off in France, witnessing the bitter yet strangely amicable divorce of our protagonist, Karol Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), and his soon-to-be ex-wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy). It's quite obvious the Karol still loves his wife desperately, and that Dominique would feel the same, but for Karol's unfortunate impotence problem. It seems like a fairly trivial thing to end a marriage over, all things being equal, but these were the days before Viagra, and French women are said to be rather lusty.

After the divorce, Karol, dejected, attempts to return to his homeland of Poland, but the courts have frozen his assets and revoked his passport. Karol becomes a ghost on the streets of Paris, living in the subway, begging, and using his meager francs to call Dominique, only to be cruelly left on the line to listen to the sounds of passion with another man.

Karol eventually befriends Mikolaj, another Polish national, and the two hatch a crazy scheme to sneak Karol back into the country. The plan is simple and brutal, but ultimately flawed, and Karol's welcoming party upon his return to Poland is anything but welcoming. Despite a few bumps in the road, Karol eventually finds himself living back home with his brother in the family hair salon. Karol soon finds a place for himself in the mafia-esque shady dealings of a nascent capitalist system, and quickly rises to the top, making a fortune as an importer/exporter and general investor.

White deals with the theme of equality in many ways, from the merely political (despite Kieslowski's best efforts to steer clear of politics), to the convolutedly esoteric. Equality is explored in a political and financial sense via the fulcrum of a Poland newly released from the bonds of Soviet communism. Poland and the Polish people are attempting to equalize themselves with the rest of Europe by adopting a capitalistic system and rushing to reintegrate into the flow of European society. This reintegration is personified on an individual level by Karol, the Polish national living in France who falls in love with a French woman. But Karol's new-found "equality" evaporates in the face of the divorce ruling from the French courts. He becomes once again merely Polish, an unwanted outsider, shunned by France and barred from returning to Poland.

On a more esoteric level, with his new-found money and influence in Poland, Karol plans a twisted vengeance upon the woman who spurned him. And what is vengeance but a grand equalizer? A man seeking vengeance is a man seeking to equalize a situation he feels is drastically unbalanced; to right the wrongs, or merely to do more wrong in compensation.

As he did for Blue (1991), Zbigniew Preisner creates the musical score for White. Undoubtedly, White's score takes on a much more subdued role than Blue's, but it is still masterfully done. White suffers somewhat from not retaining the gorgeous cinematography employed by Slawomir Idziak in Blue, but Edward Klosinski's camera work is not bad either.

White is billed as the comedy of the trilogy, but the comedy is black. White deals with themes as painful and personal as Blue's, but it is ultimately less satisfying. Perhaps the complex machinations of bitter love are beyond me, but White touched less of a nerve for me than Blue. Still a well-made film and worth a watch.

Storyline & plot: 8/10

Cinematography & effects: 7/10

Music & mood: 8/10

Performances: 7/10

The Reverend says: 7/10