French Film Blue Is The Warmest Color is an emotional tale about two French girls who encounter a passionate relationship with one another that will forever change who they are. The film came into the New York Film Festival will quite a bit of controversy because of a lengthy sex scene, and some less than praise worthy comments from the film’s stars about Abdellatif Kechiche, the films’ director.
Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is a 15-year old girl who is just starting to come into her own. She wants to be a teacher, and begins to date Thomas (Jérémie Laheurte) one of the most handsome boys at her school. Only she can’t seem to truly feel anything sexually when she’s with Thomas. She has a brief encounter with a blue haired lady while crossing the street, and later fantasies about her in a dream, leading her to awaken thoughts about her sexuality that are completely new and foreign to her.
In order to find herself, Adèle seeks out this blue haired girl at a lesbian bar, and learns that her name is Emma (Léa Seydoux), an older art student studying at a University nearby. She’s much more experienced that Emma, but they find an instant attraction to one another that won’t be denied.
The film, at 3 hours long, allows Kechinche to take his time to explore the developmental journey of Adèle into this new world of love. We see her struggle internally as she discovers who she is, and the effects that this new sexual journey will have on her and everyone around her. After Adèle’s female friends see her hanging out with Emma they start to tease her about being a lesbian. In a truly tense scene, one former friend of hers even freaks out about having slept in the same bed together at a sleepover with her. Adèle has to hide her relationship with Emma from her parents, telling them that Emma has been tutoring Adèle in philosophy. This is a big difference from Emma who brings Adèle home to perfectly adjusted and accepting parents who are more concerned about what white they’re drinking and what food they’re serving to their new guest.
Blue Is The Warmest Color received a lot of controversy for it’s nearly 12-minute long sex scene that is quite graphic and doesn’t shy away from much. It’s worth noting that quite a few critics during the press screening got up to go to the bathroom or such during this scene (don’t think it was a coincidence, as they almost never got up during other screenings throughout the festival). Is it a shocking scene? Sure, but it’s not purely for shock. It’s an effective tool to show just how overwhelming and passionate that this new world is to Adèle. It’s a new shocking discovery to her, and we are brought along the way through the cinematic experience.
Ghalia Lacroix’s screenplay is razor sharp mostly contained to personal questions and conversations that never bore or feel tired. Throughout the 3-hour run time I felt engaged and interested to all of the characters happenings, constantly being pulled in by the riveting relationship between the two leads. Kechiche draws you in with his extremely close shots that throw you into the heat of every moment, allowing you no sense of escape.
Kechinche asks a lot from his audience, and even more from his two fantastic lead actresses who give their literal all in their performances that deserves all kinds of accolades and recognition. Adèle Exarchopoulos is only 19-years-old but gives a performance well past her years. Léa Seydoux is just as great, putting together some great chemistry that is so believable you have to remind yourself that they are really just acting. When they fight, your insides are torn out just as much as them, feeling every bit of pain and tears as they do.
It’s hard to imagine someone watching Blue Is The Warmest Color and not being moved by Adèle’s journey. We see her grow as a person from her early days in school to a professional teacher who is slowly moving up the ranks. She discovers a lot about herself along the way, and its a bumpy ride that certainly is not easy. There’s a lot to take in and digest in this film, but it’s a long journey that is one of the most passionate romantic tales that you will watch unfold on the big screen.
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