“Three Colors: White” “Equality of love” depicted in a transition between tragedy and comedy

The question “Is there equality in love?”

So, what is the "love" in "White Love," which unfolds as a tragicomedy?

There are all kinds of "love" in the world. Sexual love, friendship, family love, brotherly love. This film depicts the fate of the love between a husband and wife, but it also depicts the brotherly love between Karol and his brother, and the friendship between Karol and Mikolaj, who save each other from difficult situations.

There are many different forms of love between people all over the world who are nurturing love. Devotion, self-sacrifice, unrequited love, mutual love, or even dependency or codependency - what is seen in the forms of love listed here is superiority. In other words, when there are two people involved, one is superior and the other is inferior. Is there no such thing as completely equal love? Even in a relationship of mutual love or codependency, a hierarchical relationship will emerge from time to time. I believe that "love" is shaped by the repeated changes in that relationship. I think that this change is what we call a transition from tragedy to comedy, comedy to tragedy, and back again...

Finally, I would like to return to the main theme of this work, which is, "Does equality exist in love?" For Carol, who lost her place in Paris, France, it is a foreign land, and the same is true for Warsaw, Poland, for Dominique, who rushes to her husband's funeral and sheds tears. In this work, it is important that the two are both "border crossers." There are two settings, and by crossing the boundary between them, the "inequality of love" becomes more clear. This boundary refers to a national border, the boundary between the living and the dead. Depending on the situation, their relationship is reversed. As the story progresses, the relationship of the pursuer and the pursued - in other words, their positions are reversed.

"Equality in love" - ​​this is probably difficult to find. That's what I feel as I laugh and cry at times while watching this "tragedy-comedy." I think that by not only looking at our own tragedies and comedies, but also paying close attention to the stories of others, we can come a little closer to building "equality in love."

Text: Yushu Orita

Writer. Born in 1990. The main areas of coverage include movies, theater, actors, literature, fashion, and bars. In addition to contributing to numerous movie theater pamphlets, he also serves as MC on the movie talk show ``Katsuben Cinema Club.'' My favorite directors are Yasuzo Masumura and Douglas Sirk.

Watch now

View work information

(c) Photofest / Getty Images