This is a post to celebrate LGBT month. I know it was supposed to about LGBT books, but this film is based on a graphic novel, so it almost counts, right? Plus, I needed to keep with my A-Z theme....
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
France/Belgium/Spain, 2013
Running Length: 179 minutes
Cast: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulous, Salim Kechiouche
Director: Abtellatif Kechiche
Screenplay: Galia Lacroix
Cinematography: Sofian El Fani
Winner of the 2013 Palme d’Or, Blue is The Warmest Color is a minutely detailed and brazenly original study of first love. While nothing about its storyline is wholly original, the way it is presented onscreen is so extraordinary, many critics have mourned that it is only three hours long – they could have watched for far longer.
Loosely based on a graphic novel by Julie Maroh, the film follows a young girl, Adele, whose hunger for life, knowledge, and experiences is vividly shown by the voracious way she reads and the way she tears into her father’s spaghetti at dinner. She starts the film as a precocious high-schooler, and finishes the film as a grown woman, albeit one who still has a lot to learn.
Adele is fifteen when she realizes she’s not happy with the guys she’s dating. She can’t get the girl with the blue hair out of her head, despite the fact their sole encounter was fleeting. When they meet again, love blossoms quickly and leads to the steamy sex scenes that have made the film so controversial. While the older and more sophisticated Emma accepts her new sexual identity gladly, Adele never fully gives into it and keeps it a secret, even when, several years later, the pair are living together.
The performances in this film are stunning. Raw emotion spills from the screen, and the fragility of the girls’ situation is palpable in every scene. Director Kechiche manages to create a wholly believable world for this relationship to exist in, with each of the two girls having a wide group of friends, teachers and family to engage with. This bustling background makes the moments when the two girls are alone, behind closed doors, all the more striking.
Bold and beautiful, Blue Is The Warmest Color is both a touching love story, and one of the best coming-of-age films of our time. Just go see it!
This sounds like a lovely movie! I'm going to have to go find it... somewhere.... *hunts*
ReplyDeleteAlex Hurst, fantasy author in Japan. "B is for Books" is my current post.
Oh I have this (both the movie and the graphic novel) on my wishlist :)
ReplyDeleteAnd everything counts as long as it's LGBT+ (so movies and graphic novels too)
A lot of people complained about this one because it didn't present the characters as convincing lesbian. So it's good you ignored that, because it seems like a sort of stupid comment to me.
ReplyDeleteI work in a bookstore. Graphic Novels DEFINITELY count as books! Hi, this is Pam and I'm a challenge co host. I want to help make your challenge experience better. Would you mind emailing me at unconventionallibrarian@gmail.com ? I Look forward to hearing from you!
ReplyDeletePam, An Unconventional Librarian
www.unconventionallibrarian.com
Co-host, Blogging from A to Z April Challenge
http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/
The film sounds fascinating! Yay for GLBT month! :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a great movie, with a great premise.
ReplyDeleteLove this window into film! Great theme. That movie sounds awesome, but something I'd probably have to stay up late for -- to watch after the kids are deeply and soundly asleep! I'm off to look it up.
ReplyDeleteI remember thinking that movie looked good, although romances aren't really my cup of tea. But I definitely think there wouldn't have been as much "controversy" if it wasn't two women.
ReplyDelete