If "We all experience pleasure differently" and "Everything is tragedy, or ends in tragedy" then what's left?
What is left is "Infinite tenderness" and sensuality" That describes Blue is the Warmest Color.
Yes, I know, it has a 10 minute long lesbian scene and a few other scenes that are provocative in nature, but the film also has a sexual tenderness that is seldom seen in teen relationships. The question is, why are we provoked?
The film portrays a coming of age story of Adele, who is attracted to women but resorts to boys when she feels alone and left behind. Is that fact so shocking that we must label the film provocative? And if it is why? - why is it hard to believe that our sexuality and orientation can change with age, that it may be fluid? Our beliefs change, our morals change, and our value system can change, if we are placed in the proper environment. Then why is it hard to believe that sexuality can also change?
I will tell you why - because change is scary and everything that is foreign to us is either "stupid" or a treat to our system/beliefs ext.
To put it in perspective, Plato talked about women being equal to men and proposed that they are given the right to vote and take public and state positions. That's Plato I'm talking about, 4th century BC. It took us some 2000 years to realize that he was right. We just started talking about gay/lesbian rights and equality among same sex marriages. I hope it doesn't take us another 2000 years to make it right. That thought alone can make you feel "blue." But the film takes another view of the color spectrum.
"Blue" is a way of experiencing life, it's a way of learning, learning about us and learning to experience our mistakes. First we see Emma being "blue." She has blue hair and she is looking for something (warmth?) They meet in the park and sit on a blue bench. After Emma leaves and we stay with Adele to absorb the excitement in her, Kechiche cuts to a wide shot. We see the bench enveloped in a pink-colored-spring-ready-cherry tree. Spring symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings and we are thrilled for the romance to take its next step. On the other hand, if we keep with the color pallet of the film and see pink as a shade of red, then we know that tragedy hoovers over and above us.
We end with Adele wearing a blue dress, meaning blue is all over her. She is not only hurt and sorry for what she did, but more than ever ready not to make the same mistake again. If blue is the warmest color then what is the coolest color?
According to Abdellatif Kechiche it's red. After the party scene in Emma's house when Adele for the first time sees Lise and sparks of jealousy are protruding in her eyes, red is what gets in the way. I'm talking about Emma refusing to have sex with Adele because her period has come. Subtle but very poignant. During the same scene Adele is several times compared to and juxtaposed with Louise Brooks' character Lulu in "Pandora's box." The later classic by G.W. Pabst is about the rise and fall of naive young woman, whose erotism inspires violence in those around them. Lulu and Adele are close to each other in the magnificent sexuality and sensuality they project. After "red" gets in the way it is downhill from there for Adele. Downhill that culminates in the gallery scene. Here Adele wears a blue dress, thus she is engulfed in the warmest color. Except in her situation she is thriving to get that warmth back. What gets in the way? - you guessed it. Emma is very much in love with Lise and she is wearing a red shirt to show it.
4 / 5
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Staring: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulos
What is left is "Infinite tenderness" and sensuality" That describes Blue is the Warmest Color.
Yes, I know, it has a 10 minute long lesbian scene and a few other scenes that are provocative in nature, but the film also has a sexual tenderness that is seldom seen in teen relationships. The question is, why are we provoked?
The film portrays a coming of age story of Adele, who is attracted to women but resorts to boys when she feels alone and left behind. Is that fact so shocking that we must label the film provocative? And if it is why? - why is it hard to believe that our sexuality and orientation can change with age, that it may be fluid? Our beliefs change, our morals change, and our value system can change, if we are placed in the proper environment. Then why is it hard to believe that sexuality can also change?
I will tell you why - because change is scary and everything that is foreign to us is either "stupid" or a treat to our system/beliefs ext.
To put it in perspective, Plato talked about women being equal to men and proposed that they are given the right to vote and take public and state positions. That's Plato I'm talking about, 4th century BC. It took us some 2000 years to realize that he was right. We just started talking about gay/lesbian rights and equality among same sex marriages. I hope it doesn't take us another 2000 years to make it right. That thought alone can make you feel "blue." But the film takes another view of the color spectrum.
"Blue" is a way of experiencing life, it's a way of learning, learning about us and learning to experience our mistakes. First we see Emma being "blue." She has blue hair and she is looking for something (warmth?) They meet in the park and sit on a blue bench. After Emma leaves and we stay with Adele to absorb the excitement in her, Kechiche cuts to a wide shot. We see the bench enveloped in a pink-colored-spring-ready-cherry tree. Spring symbolizes rebirth and new beginnings and we are thrilled for the romance to take its next step. On the other hand, if we keep with the color pallet of the film and see pink as a shade of red, then we know that tragedy hoovers over and above us.
We end with Adele wearing a blue dress, meaning blue is all over her. She is not only hurt and sorry for what she did, but more than ever ready not to make the same mistake again. If blue is the warmest color then what is the coolest color?
According to Abdellatif Kechiche it's red. After the party scene in Emma's house when Adele for the first time sees Lise and sparks of jealousy are protruding in her eyes, red is what gets in the way. I'm talking about Emma refusing to have sex with Adele because her period has come. Subtle but very poignant. During the same scene Adele is several times compared to and juxtaposed with Louise Brooks' character Lulu in "Pandora's box." The later classic by G.W. Pabst is about the rise and fall of naive young woman, whose erotism inspires violence in those around them. Lulu and Adele are close to each other in the magnificent sexuality and sensuality they project. After "red" gets in the way it is downhill from there for Adele. Downhill that culminates in the gallery scene. Here Adele wears a blue dress, thus she is engulfed in the warmest color. Except in her situation she is thriving to get that warmth back. What gets in the way? - you guessed it. Emma is very much in love with Lise and she is wearing a red shirt to show it.
4 / 5
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Staring: Lea Seydoux, Adele Exarchopoulos
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