Kieslowski's "Three Colours 'Blue', 'White' and 'Red'" : the colours of life

Abstract

This article is an art-philosophical interpretation of Kieslowski's film trilogy, "Blue", "White" and "Red", in terms of Gadamer's distinction among the three hermeneutic activities of understanding, interpretation and application. Focusing on the symbolic meaning of the colours in question, namely liberty, equality and fraternity or friendship, it traces the emergence of meaning in the narratives of the three films by moving from understanding to interpretation, before addressing the question of the films' application to the lives of contemporary people.