Three Colours White (DVD, 2001)

Part two in Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's THREE COLOURS astounding trilogy, WHITE represents Equality (of Liberty and Fraternity) in the French flag and the French national motto. Karol (Zbigniew Zamachowski), a sweet but awkward Polish hairdresser, has just lost everything in a bitter divorce settlement--his cold-hearted French wife, Dominique (Julie Delpy) having taken their home, credit cards, and business. The poor Karol finds himself stranded in Paris, speaking very little French; once he returns to his native Poland, his luck changes for the better. He manages to make a small fortune and a name for himself. Although he's moved up in the world, he still thinks about his former life with Dominique, and it is his memories, good and bad, that lead him to stage his disappearance, and which initiate an unusual chain of events. WHITE is a more lighthearted and leisurely affair than BLUE or RED, adding a well-rounded dimension to the trilogy. Kieslowski and Krzysztof Piesiwicz's script thrusts the characters into odd predicaments, and then ingeniously backs off to tell the tale of Karol's revenge, succeeding in laying enough emotional groundwork to justify Karol's sincere change of heart.