Review of Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) by Carl W — 25 Nov 2013

This is one of the best films about love and relationships I've ever seen. Its message is so brutal that I question its truth, but at the same time I can relate to it.

The three-hour running time allows the film to read like a book with drawn out scenes and a less formal structure. It's absorbing like a book, and I became familiar with the characters like I was living it with the protagonist.

While this film has a good amount of dialogue, I think back on it as a silent film. Even when the characters are talking, we are more engaged with the faces and their texture rather than the words they are speaking. The film is simple in just this way; it is about physical and emotional attachments, and we can find most of its substance on the surface. I think it's about destiny too, and how when we find our destiny we start our collision course with tragedy (again, not sure if I believe this, but it's a powerful message, and better brutally honest than false).

The performances were astounding. Lea Seydoux has my vote for best supporting actress of the year.

I found that I didn't get to know the characters as well as I could have, and I found this a fault. For all of the lingering close ups on Adele's face, I couldn't always guess what was going on in her mind. That being said, every film has flaws, and not every film works in exactly the way you want it to.

Overall, this is a film that won't leave you for a long time. I don't think you can fully appreciate it without having had some sort of relationship. Even I don't think I've had enough experience to relate to it fully. I still think it's a great film and worthy of its high praise.