I was very nervous to see this movie. With all that I have read about the three hour tragic love story with very graphic sex, I was expecting this film to be two and a half hours of full on nudity and maybe a half hour of actual narrative. I was completely wrong.
The film stars a very sensitive Adele Exarchopoulos as a high school girl doing high school girl stuff; she dates a boy, they have sex, she gossips, and she deals with a break up. She later meets Emma (played by Lea Seydoux) who is a college senior working on her art major. They lock eyes earlier in the film as Adele is off on her date with a boy, but she comes in much later in the film. The first conversation had by Emma and Adele is at a gay bar. This scene has one of the most simple and beautiful reveals of Emma coming out of another room just barely out of focus. From there the love story takes flight and later comes crashing down.
Adele and Emma at a pride parade in Blue Is The Warmest Color
Blue Is The Warmest Color is one of the most raw and emotionally honest films I have seen. Ms. Exarchoupoulos is definitely a shining star in this film. When she cries, she really cries. There's snot that runs through her tears; there is simply no ego. It's brilliantly done and it's even more impressive that the actress is only 19. Lea Seydoux also comes through with a role of modesty and personal security. She plays a role that is rooted in masculine values. Her emotions play out much heavier than Adele's do in the way that they are bursts of anger and sexuality rather than extreme sadness. There is no fault in the acting in this film. To me, it is absolutely spot on.
Blue Is The Warmest Color is one of the most raw and emotionally honest films I have seen. Ms. Exarchoupoulos is definitely a shining star in this film. When she cries, she really cries. There's snot that runs through her tears; there is simply no ego. It's brilliantly done and it's even more impressive that the actress is only 19. Lea Seydoux also comes through with a role of modesty and personal security. She plays a role that is rooted in masculine values. Her emotions play out much heavier than Adele's do in the way that they are bursts of anger and sexuality rather than extreme sadness. There is no fault in the acting in this film. To me, it is absolutely spot on.
If you are not interested with Adele's face, this is going to be a very long movie for you.The cinematographer, Sofian El Fani, is my biggest gripe with the film. He seems to struggle when the image is not an extreme close up of someone's face. There are a handful of shots where he pulls the camera back, but there is no substance to them. This film, to me, is very boring stylistically. Don't get me wrong, though, the images fit perfectly well with the film. It is intimate and, at times, intrusive. It feels almost voyeuristic; an outsider looking in, if you may. There is just a strange amount of close-ups of people eating spaghetti in this film. It sounds like I am lying, but I'm not. Everyone in this film loves to eat, and they show it. These shots really pulled me out of the film just because it was so gross. There's no music; it's just people biting away at spaghetti. Kechiche definitely has a weird sense of humor... if it even is humor.
OK, the sex scenes. Well, the author of the source material (Julie Maroh) has said "the heteronormative laughed because they don't understand it and find the scene ridiculous. The gay and queer people laughed because it's not convincing, and found it ridiculous."
I felt that the scenes worked. Throughout the film there is this build up of sexual tension between Adele and Emma that it was not surprising to see a very hard cut to graphic sex. The one thing I absolutely hated about it was how raw it really was. There was no music, so everyone in the theater had to hear me take sips of my drink between the passionate moans and groans on the screen. It's volcanic in the way that the sex progresses. It serves the film well. It is an important and integral scene that addresses the sexual dependency that Adele has for Emma.
Overall, this film is amazing. It really is glorious in its method of tackling ideas of love and sexuality. It really is too bad that there is so much controversy surrounding the film. It is far too powerful of a film.
First time watch: 9/10
OK, the sex scenes. Well, the author of the source material (Julie Maroh) has said "the heteronormative laughed because they don't understand it and find the scene ridiculous. The gay and queer people laughed because it's not convincing, and found it ridiculous."
I felt that the scenes worked. Throughout the film there is this build up of sexual tension between Adele and Emma that it was not surprising to see a very hard cut to graphic sex. The one thing I absolutely hated about it was how raw it really was. There was no music, so everyone in the theater had to hear me take sips of my drink between the passionate moans and groans on the screen. It's volcanic in the way that the sex progresses. It serves the film well. It is an important and integral scene that addresses the sexual dependency that Adele has for Emma.
Overall, this film is amazing. It really is glorious in its method of tackling ideas of love and sexuality. It really is too bad that there is so much controversy surrounding the film. It is far too powerful of a film.
First time watch: 9/10
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