Three Colours: Blue (1993)

aka Trois couleurs: Bleu

2007 #39
Krzysztof Kieslowski | 96 mins | DVD | 15 / R

The first in Kieslowski’s thematic trilogy based around the French flag and the values it represents.

Here it’s liberté/freedom, in this case brought about by the death of Julie’s husband and daughter in a car accident. In the lead role Juliette Binoche is the film and she carries it admirably, taking her character through a range of phases and emotions.

It takes a little time to get going but is worth it in the end (speaking of the end, it appears to have been an inspiration to films such as Donnie Darko and Magnolia).

4 out of 5

Trainspotting (1996)

2007 #29
Danny Boyle | 90 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Trainspotting

Choose great direction.
Choose iconic images.
Choose a great soundtrack.
Choose a brilliant cast.
Choose a career-making performance from Ewan McGregor.
Choose a witty script.
Choose realism.
Choose drugs.
Choose sex.
Choose a condom, for the first time on screen.
Choose swearing.
Choose violence.
Choose drink.
Choose Scotland.
Choose Trainspotting.

5 out of 5

Choose Film4 tonight, Thursday 2nd April 2015, at 10:55pm.

Fargo (1996)

Fargo2007 #23
Joel Coen | 94 mins | DVD | 18 / R

Fargo is the latest film to have been inducted into the United States National Film Registry, donchaknow. It’s also 105th on the IMDb Top 250 [it’s now 153rd], and the 21st film from the 1990s. So it’s pretty much a modern classic then.

It is indeed very good; the only thing holding me off giving it 5 is a lack of that Something which leads me to rate so highly after one viewing. Maybe it will go up in time.

4 out of 5

Boogie Nights (1997)

Boogie Nights2007 #4
Paul Thomas Anderson | 150 mins | DVD | 18 / R

I loved Magnolia. I thought Punch-Drunk Love was dire. And this is how I come to Boogie Nights.

I didn’t fall for it in the same way I did for Magnolia, but it is nonetheless a very good film that shows a step on the path to that more complex and more rewarding picture. One I may get a better feel for when I see it again some day.

4 out of 5