Movies: Blue Is The Warmest Color

 

(Drivebycuriosity) -  The state of the modern cinema gets a lot of criticism. The pundits claim that the quality of movies is sinking, partly because many films are based on comic books. This year a motion picture based on a graphic novel won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and was celebrated at a lot of other film festivals: "Blue Is The Warmest Color" (imdb). This is the picturization of the graphic novel "Blue Angel" ("Le Bleu est une couleur chaude") by Julie Maroh (wikipedia).

Director Abdellatif Kechiche focused on around 3 years in the life of Adèle, who in the beginning has just turned 16 and is a junior in high school. The teenager discovers her interest in the same sex and fells in love with Emma, a student of "fine arts" (painting) who is around 10 years older. Soon Adèle moves in with the aspiring painter and an informal marriage begins (as usual no spoilers here).

"Blue" is a psychological drama about pleasures and pains of an intense relationship. The movie also touches a lot of issues like the life of young people in the French province, school system, the role of artists in the society, the pleasures of eating and more. Maybe "Blue" is a mirror for the modern French culture.

Adolescent Adèle, who comes from a somewhat red neck family,  has to deal with a lot of challenges: The significant age difference and the unfamiliar sophisticated and somewhat bohemian environment of the older woman.

"Blue" got a lot of public attention because of the generous filmed sex scenes between both girls. Indeed without them the movie would be just another art house relationship drama. But the intensive sexual scenes are defining and very important to explain the bonds between both women. 

I could have watched the intense interaction between the 2 beautiful young women hours and hours. Their exchange of pleasure and the way they were teasing, stimulating and exploring each other was highly esthetic. 

The newcomer Adèle Exarchopoulos, who played Adèle, was a canvas for the emotional awakening of a teenager. Her curiosity and her hunger for life, food & sex defined the movie. Léa Seydoux (Inglourious Basterds) as her somewhat calculating object of desire was a congenial complement.

I want to see more picturizations of graphic novel like ""Blue Is The Warmest Color"".