32. Three Colors: Blue (A)
33. Bright Leaves (A)
Three Colors: Blue: I watched part of
Three Colors: Red for a class last year, but never finished the movie. I picked up the trilogy from Criterion during their Valentine's Day sale this year, and will be watching each film in its entirety for the first time. Here is a rather simple story: a family is in a car accident. The husband, a famous French composer, and the daughter die, while the wife (Juliette Binoche) survives. Most of the film deals with her grieving process, and it tells this simple story with astonishing beauty, both visually and on the soundtrack. The scene where Binoche finishes her husband's composition (her composition, perhaps, all along) is stunning.
Bright Leaves: I'm going to see Ross McElwee present his latest film in person tomorrow, which has me very excited, but my girlfriend had never seen a film by his before, so I opted for this (via Netflix). It's the first McElwee film I saw, and still my favorite. It's funny, sad, playful, serious, and insightful all at once. His style may not be for everyone, but this is probably his most accessible film to date (since it deals with the broader subject of tobacco in the south, in addition to McElwee's personal life).
Theatres: 14
Home Video: 17 +1
Computer: 2 +1