Since my first introduction to this film was actually a negative response video on YouTube, I was understandably apprehensive about watching “Blue is the Warmest Color.” However, my morbid curiousity got the better of me and I’m glad it did because I love this movie.
Interestingly enough the original writer, Julie Maroh, felt much the same as the YouTubers and hated the film. She wrote it as a black and white graphic novel with only highlights of blue and thought that Abdellatif Kechiche, who adapted it to a screenplay and directed the film, misconstrued the concept. She accused him of making it into a cheap, sexual fantasy rather than focusing on the raw emotion.
I have to disagree! I think that the emotion between Adele, played by Adele Exarchopoulos, and Emma, played by Lea Seydoux, is subtle yet electrifying! It’s painful yet beautiful to watch Adele grow into herself, first with the help of Emma and then startlingly alone. Rather than spell out everything she is going through, the entire film is characterized by deep conversations and subdued foreshadowing to guide your understanding of the phases of Adele. The beauty of this quiet approach is that it allows the viewer to draw on their own experiences to relate to the characters and form their own conclusions.
To complement this very stylistic approach the movie does use the color blue in much the same way as the graphic novel to highlight the passions, or lack thereof, of Adele. The music is also very quiet and subtle, almost imperceptible, to subliminally enhance your emotions without distracting from the raw, gritty realism picked up by the camera.
Overall, I think this movie is incredible and I give it 4.5 stars making it a must see. I recommend it on a night when you wish to be swept away by nostalgia to remember the whirlwind of your first romance.
No comments:
Post a Comment