Review of Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) by Steve P — 15 Feb 2014

A remarkable film. Essentially a lesbian love story but that description doesn't do it justice. The story spans the journey of a young 17 year old girl (Adele) as she falls in love with a slightly older woman, their deeply committed relationship, and the agony of the loss of that relationship. It's a deep and powerful coming of age narrative that had me riveted for the three hours of its running time.

The movie has quite a bit of controversy surrounding it. Firstly, the sex scenes are very explicit and high impact with some questioning whether it needed to go as far as it did. Secondly, the conditions under which the actors were required to work because of the director's approach and demands have raised questions about whether the two young actors were exploited. And, finally, some of the gay community have criticised the film because the actors were not homosexual, suggesting that the movie is little more than a heterosexual's biased vision of what they would like a lesbian relationship to be like.

I saw the movie without knowing about any of these criticisms. In my opinion it's an extraordinary film. The acting, particularly by Adele Exarchopoulos, is incredible. It is a deeply moving exploration, as Robbie Collin puts it, of "pleasure, sadness, anger, lust and hope." A truly remarkable achievement.