Kieslowski’s intriguing triptych reaches its second stage with Three Colours: White and surprisingly hints at a lightheartedness not really seen in the work of Europe’s most ascetic film director.

The film begins in Paris where Polish hairdresser Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski) is really down on his luck: impotent, penniless, and divorced by his glamorous French wife (Julie Delpy). A lugubrious compatriot offers him an unusual job back home, and on his return to his native Poland Karol receives a rude introduction to the new Poland, where everything can be bought and sold. He swims with the tide, determined to become ‘more equal’ than others, and plots his own form of revenge. White is an entertaining black comedy with Kieslowski’s usual attention to unique style, excellent performances and wonderful music.

White is a droll tale of fortune reversed for which Kieslowski won Berlin’s Best Director award.

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