Read it three times. The first time I just understood the plot, but did not understand the ideological core expressed by the director. The second time I basically understood what the director wanted to express, and also understood the meaning of several main colors in the film. In the third article, the subtitles were removed, the colors were completely extracted from the plot, and more details were found.
First, briefly summarize the meaning of the 5 main colors in the film. The French flag has three colors, blue for freedom, red for love and white for equality. The famous director Kieslowski's "Blue, White and Red Trilogy" uses these three meanings respectively. Then there is yellow, the color of fire in the film, which represents true freedom, without material dependence, without any restraint. The last one is black, which is the color of condolences, representing the end of a relationship or temporary despair over the relationship.
The film begins in a tunnel, where the lights transform into blue film, implying that this is a film about freedom.
The blue light is a symbol of freedom as the nation understands it. Relying on modern technology, it is ubiquitous and imposed on everyone with the help of state power. So Alex turns off the lights when he sleeps. He hates this state-defined freedom and pursues true freedom.
After Alex was crushed by the car, the bus and the police, a symbol of national strength, immediately appeared. They are all blue and flaunt their understanding of freedom. On the bus, the police flexed their muscles, a manifestation of national strength.
Alex was thrown into the shelter, which was a filthy mess. A man in blue clothes and another man in red clothes were stripped naked, representing that people did not lose their freedom and love in the shelter. It's a satire of the state imposing freedom on people as it understands it.
Then there is the symbol of freedom in itself, the new bridge, isolated, mutilated, and untouched by the corrective power of the state. So the director specially gave a close-up of the deep blue lake. The reason why Alex desperately returns to the new bridge every time is also because it symbolizes true freedom.
Our mistress Michelle leaves the factory wearing a bright red coat, a symbol of her love for her boyfriend Julian. So she only painted Julian, but she has now been ruthlessly abandoned by her boyfriend.
Alex found "Julian and Michelle" according to the address on Michelle's letter. This is the love diary of two people. The red color represents the love of two people recorded in it. But at this time another woman was lying on the bed, indicating that Julian had a new girlfriend. Here Alex begins to understand love.
The first gift that Alex gave to Michelle, the red color represented his love token, and he began to truly fall in love with this woman.
The flame represents the absolute freedom that Alex seeks, it has no fixed shape, does not rely on any material, and is not bound by any kind. From here, Michelle, who is a viewer, begins to yearn for this real freedom, but this freedom is harmful to her and will hurt her eyes.
Michelle completed this painting from memory, representing her quest for this true freedom.
So she put on a yellow coat of the same color as the flame.
The advertising columns on both sides were changed to red by the director, representing that this is a tunnel where Michelle chases love, and at the end of the tunnel there may be her former male protagonist Julian.
After Michelle got on the blue subway, she killed her boyfriend and her love for him in her fantasy, and was free.
Although Michelle killed her ex-boyfriend in fantasy, Michelle was still very scared. The planes, tanks, and troops that appear repeatedly in the expressionist shots are all manifestations of national strength. The colors of the national flag and the red, white and blue military caps formed by the exhaust of the planes directly symbolize the country itself. She was afraid of being captured by the state and losing her freedom, so the image of Alex breathing fire kept flashing in her mind.
The most romantic scene in the film, two people are drunk and dancing under the fireworks. The fireworks are dominated by blue and red, and under the influence of alcohol, Michelle gets freedom and Alex gets love. The white hookahs that appear later represent the equal status of the two people at the moment.
The first picture shows the three colors blue, white and red, and the stripes of the three colors make up the French flag. In the second picture, the cruise ship guard is wearing a blue uniform, which means that if he is knocked out, he can get the freedom to use the cruise ship. The red cruise ship represents Alex's love, and the blue ship lights represent the freedom that Michelle seeks. The white water curtain that appears repeatedly represents the equality of the two people at this time.
Alex dressed Michelle in a black coat, symbolizing the end of her first relationship and the end of her love affair with Julian.
At this moment, Michelle has taken off her red coat, which means she has completely let go of her love for her ex-boyfriend.
The white towel symbolizes equality between the two.
Here Alex says to Hans: "I don't think that girl loves me." Hans: "You want to be in love with other men too? There is no love at all, and there is no cold wind in the bedroom." The subtext of the sentence is that there is no freedom in the bedroom, can you give up freedom for love? The blue background, Hans' blue clothes, and the blue oil barrel all suggest Alex's inner struggle, not willing to give up his freedom for love.
The next day, the oil barrel turned red, indicating that he chose love and gave up freedom for love.
Here Hans's clothes are red, blue, and white from the inside out, making up the colors of the flag, implying that he is the king of the new bridge. At the same time, it also shows that he has these three qualities at the same time, but they are all suppressed in his heart and covered with a coat. The red is his love for his deceased wife, the blue is the freedom to live in Newbridge, and the white is the equal treatment of Alex and Michelle. The conversation makes Michelle fall in love with Hans, but her boys will still have the scene of Alex breathing fire and the pursuit of true freedom. So she still wears yellow clothes.
The ballroom's logo, a red little man and a blue little man dancing to symbolize the affection of Alex and Michelle is a dance of freedom and love. Michelle was with him for his freedom, Alex was with her for love.
The red background represents that Michelle actually fell in love with Alex in the process, but Alex didn't like it all and he lost his true freedom.
The white waves were washed away, implying the unequal state of the two people. Michelle is physically dependent on Alex, and Alex is mentally dependent on Michelle.
On the way back, Alex put on a black coat, and he was desperate for such feelings. Michelle, on the other hand, is wearing a red coat, and in the process she falls in love with Alex. So Michelle still couldn't stop looking back when Alex was desperately sprinting towards the new bridge.
The red quilt represents the love of two people. Michelle's orange coat is a mix of yellow and red, representing both her pursuit of true freedom and her love for Alex. And Alex's white clothes represent his desire for an equal relationship. The red basket on Michelle's side represents love that she really pursues in her heart, and the blue plastic bag on Alex's side represents what he really pursues is freedom.
In the process of Michelle and Hans going to the museum to see paintings, Alex once again despaired of love, put on black clothes, and began to self-harm for the first time.
After Hans died, Michelle wore black for the second time, marking the end of her second love. And Alex donned a red coat with blue stripes and white underwear underneath. He rekindled his love for Michelle again, but still pursued freedom and longed for equal status for two people in his heart.
When Michelle heard his father's missing notice and the news that his eyes could be cured, Alex took off his red sweater and white underwear and put on a yellow sweater, which represented that he began to pursue the real free.
Inside the blue plastic bag was the sedated wine that would set Michelle free. Michelle's black coat represents her readiness to end her love affair with Alex.
Michelle took off her black coat and was put on by Alex who woke up. Then I saw Michelle's message: I never loved you, forget me. Once again, in despair, he shot and knocked off one of his fingers.
The police car finally came to hunt down the male protagonist, because he burned the workers who posted the posters, and Xinqiao, a place of freedom isolated from the world, was finally intervened by state forces. The blue police car lights here still represent the freedom that the country considers it to be.
In prison, Alex does welding work. The blue arc suggests what the state thinks of freedom, but prisons do take away a place of liberty. Once again ironic that what the state considers freedom is not true freedom, but it imposes that freedom on everyone.
Michelle came to see Alex, who was wearing a black coat with a white sweater underneath. Through the back we know that she has married an ophthalmologist at this time, but this marriage must be unhappy, so she can only be with the cat. Black represents her desperation in this relationship, and white means she wants equal love. So she came to Alex again and said to him, "The person who appears in the dream should go to see him when he wakes up. I dreamed of you, and love woke me up."
Michelle's portrait of Alex on a Christmas date. Michelle is wearing a white coat, representing the equal relationship between the two at this time, and the surrounding snow also suggests this. And Alex, who was wearing a black coat, was obviously not out of despair.
Michelle is wearing a blue sweater and blue gloves, which clearly shows her yearning for freedom after being restrained after marriage. And after the two opened their hearts, Alex finally took off the coat of despair. Revealing the red sweater and blue shirt inside, he still loves Michelle deeply, and still pursues freedom in his heart.
After Michelle hinted to go home, Alex was so enraged that he hugged Michelle and jumped into the icy river. The blue water symbolizes absolute freedom.
The red cargo ship symbolizes the love between two people.
The captain said, "This is the last train today, until..." Interrupted by Michelle: "Atlantic". In fact, it should be all the way to heaven, and the two people are already dead at this time. The red blanket and white shirt represent that two people have finally gained equal love.
The two people outside the boat pose as Jack and Rose in "Titanic", which also represents this equal love.
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