Editing Three Colours trilogy (section)

==Connections and patterns==
A symbol common to the three films is that of an underlying link or thing that keeps the protagonist linked to their past. In the case of ''Blue'', it is the lamp of blue beads, and a symbol seen throughout the film in the TV of people falling (doing either [[sky diving]] or [[bungee jumping]]); the director is careful to show falls with no cords at the beginning of the film, but as the story develops the image of cords becomes more and more apparent as a symbol of a link to the past. In the case of ''White'' the item that links Karol to his past is a 2 Fr. coin and a plaster [[Bust (sculpture)|bust]] of [[Marianne]]<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1386/seec.2.1.75_1 | volume=2 | title=Clandestine human and cinematic passages in the United Europe: The Polish Plumber and Kieślowski's hairdresser | year=2011 | journal=Studies in Eastern European Cinema | pages=75–90 | last1 = Skrodzka-Bates | first1 = Aga | s2cid=145608963}}</ref> that he steals from an antique store in Paris. In the case of ''Red'', the judge never closes or locks his doors and his [[fountain pen]], which stops working at a crucial point in the story.<ref>{{cite web|last=Leong|first=Anthony|title=Demystifying Three Colors: Blue|url=http://www.mediacircus.net/blue.html|publisher=Media Circus|access-date=30 October 2011|archive-date=26 October 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021026132712/http://www.mediacircus.net/blue.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Another recurring image related to the spirit of the film is that of elderly people recycling bottles: In ''Blue'', an old woman in Paris is recycling bottles and Julie does not notice her (in the spirit of freedom); in ''White'', an old man also in Paris is trying to recycle a bottle but cannot reach the container and Karol looks at him with a sinister grin on his face (in the spirit of equality); and in ''Red'', an old woman cannot reach the hole of the container and Valentine helps her (in the spirit of fraternity).

In ''Blue'', while Julie is searching for her husband's mistress in the central courthouse, she accidentally steps into an active court trial and is immediately turned around by security. While Julie is peeking into the courtroom, Karol from ''White'' can be heard pleading to the judge in a scene that begins his chapter of the trilogy.

Each film's ending shot is of a character crying. In ''Blue'', Julie de Courcy cries looking into space. In ''White'', Karol cries as he looks at his wife. In ''Red'', the judge Kern cries as he looks through his broken window out at the camera.

Many main characters from ''Blue'' and ''White'', including Julie and Karol, appear at the ending of ''Red'' as survivors of a ferry accident.