Review of Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) by Gregory G — 02 May 2015

Eighteen-year-old French actress Adele Exarchopoulos appears in almost every frame of French-Tunisian director Abdellatif Kechiche's sublime, three hour long, coming-of-age drama about a young woman's sexual awakening.

After early experimentation that leaves her feeling empty, the voracious Adele enters into a passionate romance with a vivacious, blue-haired art student (Leya Seydoux) depicted over the course of a decade.

Eschewing narrative focus, Kechiche incorporates extended sequences, often in close-up, from Adele's perspective, that have a startling intimacy. Complications arise as socio-economic factors intervene.

A great deal of controversy and discussion was targeted at the explicitly carnal, protracted copulation passages encompassing voyeurism and the male gaze; particularly in relation to Kechiche's leering at Exarchopoulos's spectacular derriere.

A reconciliation scene between the former lovers at a cafe is one of the saddest, most beautiful depictions of heartbreak, longing, and loneliness ever seen on the screen. The two lead actresses are utterly fearless.

Exarchopoulos - expressing the gamut of emotions - is extraordinarily fervent and uninhibited. Her performance may be the finest in modern cinema. In an unprecedented decision, the jury at the Cannes Film Festival awarded the Palme d'Or to the two stars as well as the director.

Based on the graphic novel by Julie Maroh. In French with English subtitles.