Three Colours: White

After the visual sheen and spiritual uplift of Blue, part two of Kieslowski's trilogy may at first seem raw, even slight. The story, hung loosely round notions of political and personal equality, concerns the despair and desire for revenge felt by Polish hairdresser Karol (Zamachowski) when his French wife Dominique (Delpy) divorces him after six months of unconsummated marriage in Paris. Initially, having lost everything, he has no idea what to do with his life. But, after a macabre transaction with fellow expatriate Mikolaj (Gajos) enables him to return to Poland, Karol starts afresh and directs his newly developed cunning to re-igniting Dominique's love. A droll black comedy that takes a scalpel to the impoverished ethics of the new money-obsessed Poland, and to the selfish impulses tied up with our desires for a balanced sexual relationship, White is at times reminiscent of the satire of the last episode of the Dekalog. It's often cruel, of course, and cool as an ice-pick, but it's still endowed with enough unsentimental humanity to end with a touching, lyrical admission of the power of love. Essential viewing.