THE BLUE ROOM/ LA CHAMBRE BLEUE
France, 2014, 76 minutes, Colour.
Mathieu Amalric, Lea Drucker, Stephanie Cleaut.
Directed by Mathieu Amalric.
The Blue Room is based on a story by crime writer George Simenon, very popular with his series of Inspector Maigret stories. This is not one of them, though it involves crime.
One of the reasons the film is interesting is that it stars much Mathiue Amalric who was also co-screenwriter as well as director.
The film has brief running time and, in fact, a lot of the action takes place off-screen with the audience having to supply through imagination and response to clues as to what has actually happened.
It is clear from the outset that an affair is going on, in a blue room, Julien (Amalric) and Esther (Stephanie Cleaut) are both married, she not concerned about the affair because her husband is seriously ill, he somewhat edgy because he has a wife and child.
There are some scenes showing the domestic arrangements, especially for Julien, including a scene at the beach. But, very quickly, he is being interrogated by the police. During this interrogation there are many flashbacks. It emerges – but is not seen – that as Esther’s husband is dead, that Julien’s wife is dead. Have they murdered their partners?
Then, rather quickly, we are in court, where quite a number of witnesses give their opinions, character opinions, hypotheses and speculation, some factual testimony, not the kind of thing English-speaking audiences are used to in court proceedings, Julien and Esther come together in the courtroom – and then a verdict is given and sentence.
The audience does not have all that much time to deal with what is going on, their response to the characters and situations, moral judgements and assessments, which means that the effect of the drama is tantalising rather than satisfying, making a demand on the audience as the film is ending and after the film is over to make sense of what it has just experienced.
1. Crime and romance? Passion? Based on the Georges Simenon story?
2. The brevity of the film, its impact? Suggestions of activity off-screen? A film of talking, dialogue?
3. The title, the room, the apartment, the sexual behaviour, the windows, looking out, the maid and her cleaning?
4. Julien, his job, his relationship with his wife, child? The affair? The motivation? Esther’s husband? The scenes with his wife and child, on the beach? His love for his family, yet the betrayal? The death of the husband? The death of the wife? The arrest, the police interrogations, the insertion of the flashbacks? The relationship with Esther, her interrogation? In the court, listening, the testimony, the decision, the sentence?
5. Esther in herself, with Julien, the sexual relationship, provocative, asking whether they could have a life together, the pharmacy, her husband, his illness, his death, the autopsy, the results?
6. The character of the husband, the relationship, illness? Julien’s wife, her death?
7. The arrest, interrogations, reconstruction, the range of testimony, the giving of evidence, the judgements on characters? Observation, witness, the bottles of jam…? The prosecutors? The judge?
8. The finale, the sentence, so much happening off-screen and the audience supplying information, response? Their life sentence and being together always?
