In memory of Andrzej Zulawski (La note bleue)

And everyone shall be forgotten

Some critics have characterized the films of the Three Colours (Krzysztof Kieślowski) trilogy respectively as an anti-tragedy, an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance. Accordingly, the discussed film of Andrzej Zulawski could be characterized as an anti-biography.

Almost every film of Andrzej Zulawski was a scandalous one. In 1992, after the release of «La note bleue», the French critics attacked the Polish director on the ground of disrespect for the French culture. The critics thought that Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, better knows as George Sand, and other prominent French and European artists were portrayed as bratty children, which bears no resemblance to the common place idolized portraits.

The snobbish critics have not bothered to understand that Andrzej Zulawski was not going to film another idealized biography. «La note bleue» is a film about art, especially about music, not about artists. The main theme of «La note bleue» is a music of Frederic Chopin. During the film, the terminally ill composer, who lived in the Sand’s mansion, creates his music, The events of the film are built with accordance with Chopin’s music and the actions of the heroes resembles us the storylines in Chekov’s plays.

Andrzej Zulawski thinks that the filmed great artists of the past resemble the marionettes in a doll’s theatre. Every character in the film depicts his traits and follow his own stereotype. The Director filmed accurately the true portrait of every character. Andrzej Zulawski depicted George Sand as «cigar-smoking, unattractive person and unfeminine» (quoting the letters of Chopin), Solange Sand as a bratty and not-so-talented and Frederic Chopin as terminally ill hypochondriasis. But, I must say again, that the Director didn’t film this film as a biography.

In one of the interviews, Andrzej Zulawski said that he never surrendered to neither capitalism nor socialism. The Director again filmed his thoughts and ideas. Let’s forget the snobbish critics (me included), who are constantly writing about the «The Hysterical Excess of Andrzej Żuławski» or charging him with blasphemy or other things. Pay tribute to him by watching this film, if you would get some emotions, than he didn’t wasted his life badly.