In the early 1990s, Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieslowski (1941-1996) was atthe height of his fame. As king of the European art house film, he stoodalone. After the success of his TV series Decalog (1988) he worked inFrance, where he La double vie de Véronique (1991) and an ambitious trilogybased on the French flag: Blue , White and Rouge (1993-1994). He was ina hurry; the three parts had to premiere at the Venice, Berlin and Cannes filmfestivals. That worked: Kieslowski won a Golden Lion and a Silver Bear. Butbroke itself.
Even when he was still working in Poland, Kieslowski was already a realworkaholic. In his native country he made no less than 26 documentaries infifteen years, after which he switched to feature films. But in the mid-1990s,it seemed. Deadly tired and a bit tired of filming, the taciturn, meekfilmmaker announced Rouge to take early retirement. In 1996 he died suddenlyat the age of 54 of a heart attack. Like his father, he had weak lungs. Theravages he committed on his body during the trilogy, coupled with the factthat he was a heavy smoker, killed him. __
Kieslowski’s sudden death came as a shock to Catherine Cormon, assistanteditor at the Three colours -trilogy. She remembers Kieslowski as an“energetic man, great to work with, but also nervous and a chain smoker.“Kieslowski knew that editing was a way of ‘finding’ his film, as a sculptoralready sees his image in a lump of marble.
“The screenplay was never sacred. A good example is the assembly of Rouge.In a first version, the parallel between the lives of a young law student andan old judge was strengthened, later it was weakened. The emphasis is now onhow the judge changes through his contact with Valentine.”
Six cans of film
The French trilogy was shot in three countries in succession and editedsimultaneously. Blue and a small portion of Blanc were recorded in Paris.The rest of White was shot in Warsaw. Because both films were edited inParis and Kieslowski was already in Warsaw, the French editor Jacques Wittatraveled a number of times with the ‘work print’ of Blue in his luggage toPoland. Cormon: “A work print is much longer than a feature film, Witta had tocarry about six cans of film and six cans of sound recordings, fifty to sixtykilos, every time he went to Poland.”
This cumbersome work process then changed the crew Rouge began. The lastpart of the trilogy was shot in Geneva, where the editing team also settled.Work was feverish in the editing room on both Blue if Rouge. __
Cormon: “As soon as Kieslowski had time, he came to the editing room. Duringthe day he shot, in the evening he watched the rushes (the daily recordings)and commented. That also really paid off. For example, Kieslowski was notsatisfied with the third dialogue between the judge and Valentine Rouge. Inthe end he decided to base the editing not on speaking, but on listening. Youmainly see them listening to each other. That made it such an impressivescene.”
“Collaboration was very important to him anyway. At the projections of theunfinished films, there were always people he trusted who asked for theiropinion: ‘tell me what doesn’t work, I already know what’s good about it.’ Hewas very open to suggestions. As a result, the atmosphere in the editing roomwas always exciting, passionate and extremely committed. He asked 100 percentof everyone, the maximum. Whoever gave that, received recognition andgratitude, he was generous in that. When entering or leaving, he always saidhello to everyone, including the trainees.”
Thirty years later, she considers herself especially lucky to have been ableto work with the Polish maestro. “It was my best editing job ever.”
Catherine Cormon will speak at Eye Filmmuseum on February 26 about hercollaboration with Krzysztof Kieslowski.
30 years ‘Trois Couleurs: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge’
Because of the thirtieth anniversary of his film trilogy Blue, Blanc & Rouge_the Eye Filmmuseum in Amsterdam is showing a retrospective of KrzysztofKieslowski. _Trois Couleurs: Blue, Blanc, Rouge and La double vie deVéronique also tour movie theaters. Who was Kieslowski? And what makes TroisCouleurs the ‘ultimate movie trilogy’.
Profile Krzysztof Kieslowski created paradoxes, parallel universes and theultimate film trilogy
Interview Catherine Cormon She edited the trilogy that killed workaholicKieslowski
Four favorites from NRC reviewers:
Blue is the first of Kieslowski’s great trilogy, and Dana Linssen’s favoriteKieslowski.
In La Double Vie de Veronique two strangers at a great distance have aspiritual bond. It is Robbert Blokland’s favorite Kieslowski.
Student Witek lives three lives, depending on whether he catches or misses atrain. A fatalistic universe or not? Chance is Coen van Zwol’s favoriteKieslowski.
A Short Film About Love is part of the made-for-TV Decalogue. It is AndréWaardenburg’s favorite Kieslowski.