Blue is the Warmest Color

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 9:15am

Has anyone else seen this yet? I totally get why it won the Cannes Film Festival. It's gorgeous, it has a lot of subtle style shifts, and builds all of its drama out of references to philosophy, literature, and art movements. I also get why the two lead actresses were awarded the Palme D'or with the director for the first time ever. The film succeeds because they fully commit to the director's odd approach including sex scenes that just don't end.

I didn't love the film, but I really appreciated the craft on display. Not only did Abdellatif Kechiche borrow visual concepts and framing from specific artists, writers, and philosophers, he also fully committed to making it a comic book movie. You don't often see very fast close shots--mouth to eyes or mouth to hairline--jumping back and forth at different angles on actors in a romance. He sets up the story to be told in panels, including huge splash pages of action (party scenes, schoolyard fights, dance clubs, art shows) that establish the full context of the scene rather than continue the story.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 1:20pm

I saw it at the Vancouver film festival. My issue may be that I noticed the craft (which, as you say, is admirable) too much, if that makes sense. I was always aware of the director, and I didn't want to be. That said, it left a strong impression on me -- I can't stop thinking of key moments.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 2:18pm

That was my big problem, too. I couldn't really connect as much as I wanted to because I was too distracted by the design and direction. But the film also sent me into an anxiety attack at one point because it was so emotional and real and trapped in one angle that I thought I couldn't escape.

[jv92]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 8:01pm

I have plans to see this tomorrow afternoon at Lincoln Plaza, and I'm looking forward to it. It's good to know that some of you guys think it's worth seeing, even if it isn't perfect. I also want to see if the sex scenes are as "controversial" as some people make them out to be. I'm always up for an ambitious foreign movie, so here's hoping!

[strummergirl]

Posted: 11/10/13 at 9:34pm

Comes to my town this week and word from my friends who have seen it are: amazing performances but the directorial hand feels pretty flat in terms of form, if redundant in showing the same kind of shot you saw ten times already in the 2 previous hours. But they still say the performances are dynamite, they note a certain scene felt so raw and real.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 10:26am

I think I know what scene is being referred to. JV--it's absolutely worth seeing, I look forward to hearing what you think of it. I would not call the directing flat -- if anything it's very showy.

[trentsketch]

Posted: 11/11/13 at 11:33am

That raw scene is the one that set me off in the theater. You see it coming but nothing before suggests that anything like that could happen. It's slow burn until it smacks you in the face and makes you realize what actually happened in the film so far.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 11/17/13 at 5:03pm

Saw it. Liked, didn't love it. I felt like there were some moments that I wished I saw or stuck to a certain period in the film a little longer but this was definitely a star-turn by Adele Exarchopoulos. Seydoux was also very good this is very much the movie of Adele, the character and actress.

I definitely felt like in terms of aesthetics that the movie was a little inventive. I honestly did not find it too show-y. The only time we got close is them meeting again and for a moment you almost feel so sucked in to what they are trying to express that you feel they are the only two there but that is not the case at all. Yeah there was the dream scene but that seemed on par with the source material. I do agree that the style felt like a comic book/graphic novel movie in that it does feel like you are turning the pages in this person's life as they grow up.

As for the sex scene, well I can only really shrug at the hand-wringing. The only time that felt 'shocking' was when it appeared for a moment that both girls did give each other head (going in I heard about the fact it was not and there were prosthetics and kudos, most of my audience was fooled). I know some people also seemed to notice the considerable amount of 'ass' shots in the film but I feel like Kechiche seems to have the characters also be fascinated and transfixed by that. And I'll be honest, when your character sleeps in a nude on their bed, what exactly is the 'least questionable' angle other than the all too fake, strategically placed sheets to cover that character?

My audience featured a lot of older people with a few people like me in their twenties. Let me just say, I heard the giggling and the awkward reactions from the older crowd, a lot of whom were straight couples, more than the younger crowd.

Updated On: 11/18/13 at 05:03 PM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 11/18/13 at 1:36pm

The lesbians are split on it, I hear. It was a straight director and straight actors and no one was sent in to "consult." I haven't seen it, but I am told the sex isn't remotely realistic and rather porny.

[GlindatheGood22]

Posted: 11/18/13 at 8:26pm

Eileen Myles went on an epic Twitter rant about the sex today.

[strummergirl]

Posted: 11/18/13 at 8:36pm

She mentioned Hitler too early in the rant to have really grabbed me in any significant way.

And as someone who has **ahem** perused porn, I just don't see it- particularly those who insist it was shot from a male perspective (and by the way it is such a small part of the movie, the last romantic encounter was just as hot and they were fully clothed). I feel like it was heightened but in a way that the character we are watching is having her first genuine romantic, sexual connection with somebody who clearly has a lasting impact on her life.
Updated On: 11/18/13 at 08:36 PM