Krzysztof Kieślowski’s renowned Trois Coleurs trilogy begins with Bleu, a tragic drama following the life of Julie de Courcy. Within the first five minutes of the film Julie’s husband and daughter are killed in a car accident, of which she is the sole survivor. The rest of the film depicts Julie’s coping in what begins in a reclusive turning away from life, but develops by the end of the film into an openness and affirmation of life, expressing itself particularly powerfully in Julie’s kindness and passion for music. The film is explicitly meant to express a perspective on the subject of liberty, the ideal corresponding to the blue portion of the French flag. However, Kieślowski approaches the subject not from the common political understanding of the term “liberty,” but rather from the portrayal of Julie’s internal liberation from her trauma, depression, and self-destruction.…