SPOILERS:
As uncompromising as it is unapologetically non-mainstream,
Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue is the Warmest Color is truly a unique and rare
experience. For roughly three hours, we are immersed in the tumultuous journey
of a young girl’s experience of first love in all its raw passion and wonder.
Beginning with her story as a precocious teen, Adele (Exarchopoulos)
negotiates her way through the awkward and rocky waters of discovering
herself and her sexuality as she slowly realizes that she may be more attracted
to women than men. And when she catches a glimpse of a striking blue haired
girl in the streets of her town, she feels an undeniable attraction that entrances
something deep inside her. So after much anxiety and an ill-fated romance with
a boy at her school, she takes the plunge and finds herself clueless and alone
in a women’s’ gay bar. While there, she is approached by Emma (Seydoux), that
very same blue haired girl. An older college student who is brazenly
non-conformist and completely comfortable in her own skin (both things which
Adele clearly is not), Emma is everything that Adele desires and the attraction
between them is instantaneous. After facing scrutiny and persecution from some
of her classmates for her sexuality despite her self-deluding denials of their
accusations, Adele leaves that world behind and loses herself in Emma
completely. They soon begin a passionate and torrid relationship and from then
on, we watch as Adele matures into a woman as she pursues her own path in life,
a path which may or may not include Emma in the end.
As explosive and powerful as that first love truly seems,
where you feel as if nothing of you could possibly exist outside of it, this
film is more interested in exploring Adele’s journey to discover herself beyond
its confines. Adele goes through all of the relationships in her life, but deep
down, she always senses that something isn’t right. While the first half or
chapter could be classified as Adele’s journey of meeting and falling in love
with Emma, the second half is the slow and steady exposure of the cracks in
their relationship. And although it ends in chaotic and dramatic fashion, the fault
lines that are at the root of their problems deceivingly has very little to do
with affairs or infidelity; there is another level that is the divide between
the two characters. They each value different things and are focused on embarking
on starkly different avenues in their lives. Emma is the creative one willing
to expose herself completely for her art, while Adele is much more practical
and self-effacing. This difference can especially be noticed in the differing
life philosophies of their parents when they meet each pair of them for the
first time. Everything is free and out in the open with Emma, whether it’s her
relationship with her parents, her physical appearance, or her attitude and
disposition towards life. As for Adele, she reflects her parents’ more conservative
and practical life adages and is nowhere near as comfortable at exhibiting herself
or her inner sexuality as Emma is.
The most interesting thing about this film is the
captivating and magnetizing effect it produces on you. While there’s nothing
that particularly stands out in the dialogue, set direction or cinematography, it is a sheer masterpiece of directing, simply because of the
fact that you forget that there is in fact someone directing it. Well known
French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche has had a prosperous and award-winning career in the avant-garde
French film scene and his most recognizable work prior to Blue is the Warmest
Color is most likely 2007’s Couscous. But
with this new mature work, Kechiche has elevated the simple story of a girl
falling in love to stunning heights. Actually based on a graphic novel (even
here yet another adaptation), Blue is the Warmest Color won the major awards at
this year’s Palme d’Or and it’s easy to see why.
The filmmaking here is some of the most natural you’ll ever
witness; you quite simply forget the fact that these are actors playing pretend
because it just doesn’t feel like they are. With a rumoured 800 hours of
footage being shot in total, a number of the shots in the final cut were taken
while the actors were unaware that they were being filmed. To further blur the line between
reality and fiction, Adele’s character name was changed from Clementine to the
actress’s actual name over the course of filming. In what is also definitely a
standout aspect, this film spends time on moments and dialogue that other films
would cut or choose not to show. And it is these moments and these bits of
dialogue that are some of the greatest strengths of the storytelling. We
witness these characters’ interactions and feel the tangible realness of it on
screen. The camera unabashedly closes in to near claustrophobic levels to the
point where we can see every minuscule feature of Adele and Emma’s face. We become
close observers of every subtle and intimate moment; we see the glints of
happiness in their eyes and the bliss in their smiles. This level of intimacy
may give you the impression that all this could make for some uncomfortable
viewing but one of the talents of this film is that it easily expunges such
notions; we never feel like foreigners impinging on Adele’s world.
But for all the praise that this film is receiving, it is
not without its fair share of problems. Perhaps not too surprising a fact for a
three hour film, it does tend to drag at times, especially towards the end. And
even though some of the scenes kept in may have some justification in
remaining, a more effective viewing experience would have excised certain
redundant and thematically repetitive scenes. And disappointingly, a very pivotal scene that
occurs in a cafe towards the end is the one scene that doesn’t ring true.
Possessing an almost dreamlike unrealistic quality to it, it is perhaps the
only scene that feels forced and contrived at times. Aside from that however,
much of what we witness doesn’t have to be spectacular; its sheer simplicity is
very intimate and completely beguiling. As for the ending, it will probably
leave some people reeling when it briefly brings up a potential uplifting note
of optimism and then snatches it (almost cruelly) away. But it isn’t until we
witness that ending that we understand the purpose of this film. This isn’t the
story of a woman finding true love and living happily ever after. Rather, it
captures the journey we all must traverse as we awkwardly, enthusiastically,
and brazenly traipse and stumble our way in the hopes of one day getting to
that happy ending.
B+
Trailer:
Movie info:
Runtime: 179 minutes
MPAA Rating: NC-17
Cast: Adele Exarchopoulos, Lea Seydoux
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Screenplay: Abdellatif Kechiche, Ghalia Lacroix
Cinematography: Sofian El Fani
I really enjoyed to read your review, well written, articulate and very sensitive. Many subtle reflexions I have not read elsewhere. But even in broken English, I am French, I wanted to add my two cents about the “cafe scene”. In my opinion it's not contrived at all. On the contrary, for me it is THE best one, amazingly real, carrying so much complex feelings that I could write, in French of course, pages. Maybe you have not lived this kind of meeting? I have and I think I'll live with memories of this scene for the rest of my life, just next to the memories of the real ones. In fact it also reminds me painfully this particular meeting which did not take place.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much, I'm glad someone enjoyed reading it. Perhaps I was a bit too dismissive of the scene in my review but I feel that many films are too obsessed with giving its characters closure and resolution when the reality is many of us do not get such an opportunity. It was still a very well acted scene but to clarify I was slightly disappointed at how things had to be tied in such a neat bow, it almost felt obligatory rather than necessary.
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