Blue Is the Warmest Color

Name: Blue Is the Warmest Color
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: October 25, 2013
Duration: 179 min
Rating: 89
Cast: Ad, Alma Jodorowsky, Anne Loiret, Aurélien Recoing, Benjamin Siksou

2013

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 55 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 407 Ratings

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7.8

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7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 407 Ratings

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Blue Is The Warmest Color (US)

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Movie Details & Credits

Sundance Selects | Release Date: October 25, 2013 | NC-17

Starring: Ad, Alma Jodorowsky, Anne Loiret, Aurélien Recoing, Benjamin Siksou, Beno, Catherine Salée, Jeremie Laheurte, Léa Seydoux, Mona Walravens, Salim Kechiouche, Sandor Funtek

Summary: Blue is the Warmest Color centers on a 15-year-old girl named Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) who is climbing to adulthood and dreams of experiencing her first love. A handsome male classmate falls for her, but an unsettling erotic reverie upsets the romance before it begins. Adèle imagines that the mysterious, blue-haired girl she encounteredBlue is the Warmest Color centers on a 15-year-old girl named Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) who is climbing to adulthood and dreams of experiencing her first love. A handsome male classmate falls for her, but an unsettling erotic reverie upsets the romance before it begins. Adèle imagines that the mysterious, blue-haired girl she encountered in the street slips into her bed and possesses her with an overwhelming pleasure. That blue-haired girl is a confident older art student named Emma (Léa Seydoux), who will soon enter Adèle's life for real, leading to an intense and complicated love story that spans a decade and is touchingly universal in its depiction. [IFC Films]… Expand

Director: Abdel Kechiche

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: NC-17

Runtime: 179 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Justin Chang

Oct 25, 2013

It’s a simple, even predictable story, yet textured so exquisitely and acted so forcefully as to feel almost revelatory. Read full review

100

The Film Stage Raffi Asdourian

May 7, 2019

Affecting and powerful in its portrayal of love, Blue is the Warmest Color is an epic ode to the enduring affection which overwhelms when we find that special someone. Read full review

100

Tara Brady

Sep 1, 2020

Once you’ve hacked your way through the jungle of controversy, you will, in Abdellatif Kechiche’s already-notorious, rough-edged romance, encounter a small (though far from short) masterpiece. Read full review

Britt Hayes

May 7, 2019

While the film refuses to be subtle with visual metaphor, Exarchopolous and Seydoux hungrily devour their scenes; they are articulate in ways both emotional and verbal, seemingly recreating, in detail, a sumptuous feast to share with an audience that could never possibly know how it tastes. But we get very close. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Oct 31, 2013

Even with its limitations it's one of the necessary films of 2013. Read full review

Bill Goodykoontz

Oct 31, 2013

Checking in at nearly three hours and so full of passions and appetites, it’s impossible for it not to exhaust you. Read full review

Steve Persall

Nov 7, 2013

Kechiche's doting on entwined limbs, thrusting pelvises and oral stimulation, all carefully posed and continued longer than necessary to get his point across, races beyond titillation to creepy voyeurism. Read full review

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User Reviews

LowbrowCinema

Nov 5, 2013

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR left me so astounded that I had to walk aimlessly for an hour to get over its gut wrenching examination of our ability to love and lose so profoundly. After nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes the film builds to a series of scenes that make you feel like your heart hasBLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR left me so astounded that I had to walk aimlessly for an hour to get over its gut wrenching examination of our ability to love and lose so profoundly. After nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes the film builds to a series of scenes that make you feel like your heart has been scraped by a knife, leaving only a battered shell of veins intact. Forget all the talk of explicit and long sex scenes, these just small bits of BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, a very modern story of love and its power over all of us. Is it really possible to feel so profoundly? And can we possibly move on?… Expand

13 of 17 users found this helpful134

Proteus

Dec 26, 2013

My favorite movie of the year. It casts a magical spell on the viewer. I "fell in love" with the main character and thought about her for days afterward. Just a sublime movie in every way.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

MarkAngel

Nov 16, 2013

The premise is not especially original nor inventive. Nevertheless, by the end of the third hour, La Vie d'Adele marvelously and bitter-sweetly becomes singular cinematic experience that feels profound in its essence. It avoids tedious detailing of events, people, circumstances, complexThe premise is not especially original nor inventive. Nevertheless, by the end of the third hour, La Vie d'Adele marvelously and bitter-sweetly becomes singular cinematic experience that feels profound in its essence. It avoids tedious detailing of events, people, circumstances, complex narratives or character studies. Instead, it focuses on simple and meaningful themes such as youth, self acceptance, love, sex, loneliness, lost and dealing with the sorrows of solitude. The juxtaposition between life and intimacy achieves greatness here.… Expand

4 of 6 users found this helpful42

catcarlo

Jan 22, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Una storia d’amore. Che nasce per uno sguardo casuale in una piazza affollata, esplode di inarrestabile passione, poi inizia a raffreddarsi tra routine e piccoli malintesi, infine si conclude con amarezza a causa di nuove attrazioni anche se il legame fatica a spezzarsi. Adele è una liceale di Lilla che vive le incertezze proprie della sua età, tra una famiglia che non ne intuisce il difficile momento e una scuola di periferia animata però da insegnanti appassionati che ne alimentano l’amore per la letteratura. La sua omosessualità si disvela incrociando Emma, più vecchia di lei di qualche anno, proprio mentre sta andando all’appuntamento con un ragazzo: quando la ritrova in un bar per lesbiche dove è finita un po’ per caso e un po’ no,. ci vuole poco perché il rapporto diventi intensamente fisico e, per lungo tempo, si trasformi in una simbiosi allo stesso tempo totalizzante e liberatoria. Quando però Adele cresce e corona il suo sogno di insegnare all’asilo – inizia qui la seconda parte del film - si presentano nuove opportunità che finiranno per allontanare le due ragazze: i capelli di Emma - non più studentessa d’arte, ma pittrice - non sono più blu come nella prima parte e sono il simbolo della normalizzazione. Malgrado una scenataccia di gelosia che soffoca nella culla il rapporto dell’amante con un collega, è proprio Emma a rifarsi presto una vita con una nuova compagna, mentre Adele – più fragile – resta a fare i conti con il vuoto nella sua vita e una brace che non si vuole spegnere. L’idea che ci vogliano tre ore per raccontare una storia all’apparenza banale potrebbe spaventare, eppure – a parte una scena di sesso da circa otto minuti francamente pletorica (però, nel caso scappasse la pipì…) - il franco tunisino Kechiche gira un film in cui non si avverte il passare del tempo grazie a una capacità di raccontare con levità che rende estremamente scorrevole il passare dei minuti. Il tran-tran della vita quotidiana – la scuola, la famiglia, il lavoro – è reso interessante da un notevole cura per il particolare e, soprattutto, grazie a un’attenzione assidua per i volti e gli sguardi, con una speciale predilezione per quelli di Adèle Exarchopoulos, indagata da mille primi piani quando è sveglia e anche quando è addormentata con l’utilizzo di materiale girato fuori scena per accentuare l’autenticità. Il soggetto è tratto da un fumetto di Julie March, ma il regista e lo co-sceneggiatrice Ghalia Lacroix ne hanno eliminato qualsiasi effetto melodrammatico per raccontare una vicenda che dimostra che, se ogni amore è diverso a modo suo, tutti possono essere interessanti da raccontare (ma bisogna esserne capaci, ovviamente, come nelle delicatissime scene al parco quando il sentimento si dischiude) e non importa se il sesso dei due componenti la coppia sia uguale o diverso. Curiosamente, la questione che ha smosso la chiacchiera attorno al film viene ben presto accantonata durante la visione perché l’attenzione è attratta da aspetti più intriganti, dimostrando che spesso lo scandalo è nella mente di chi guarda: Kechiche sta dalla parte dei suoi personaggi e si limita a mostrare le reazioni delle persone attorno alle due ragazze limitandosi a indicare i due estremi del rifiuto un po’ ipocrita da parte delle compagne di scuola e della serena accettazione nella famiglia di Emma. Ne esce un film che unisce qualità narrativa e grande densità emotiva sprigionando un fascino sottile che si infila sottopelle e cresce con il passare del tempo dopo che i titoli di coda sono finiti: non è perfetto – c’è qualche lungaggine, le scene di sesso sono troppe e allentano la tensione, il rapporto di Adele con i genitori è inconsistente, il salto all’età adulta troppo brusco – ma si tratta di difetti ben lontani dall’inficiare la qualità complessiva che è stata con merito premiata a Cannes. Così come è giusto che sia stata riconosciuta la bravura delle due attrici che sono sempre al centro della scena – il resto del cast fa tappezzeria – protagoniste di un impegnativo tour de force da cui escono come meglio non si potrebbe disegnando due figure molto concrete, magari non particolarmente simpatiche ma estremamente reali (‘niente trucco sul set!’ pare abbia ordinato il burbero regista e la povera Léa Seydoux è stata costretta a studiare Brando e Dean per tirar fuori la propria parte maschile).… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Azurim

Dec 4, 2013

I'm not a big fan of the genre, but I enjoyed all 3 hours of the movie. The last time I had to hide behind the seat in front of me was around 20 years ago when Jurassic Park came out. Watching "Blue Is the Warmest Color" In a movie theatre I had to hide because of the sex scenes, which areI'm not a big fan of the genre, but I enjoyed all 3 hours of the movie. The last time I had to hide behind the seat in front of me was around 20 years ago when Jurassic Park came out. Watching "Blue Is the Warmest Color" In a movie theatre I had to hide because of the sex scenes, which are quite good, but difficult to watch in a public spaces even if you have a lot of experience watching porn xD However, it is a good thing, as it is a new experience, not a bad thing. The movie itself is very realistic and honest: the characters act as they probably would have in real life, no unrealistic or accidental twists of plot that I could have noticed. I would believe if I was told that the movie is entirely based on a true story. The actors are also very good, their emotions seem sincere. Some people notice that the movie is above all about lesbian love. Actually the fact that the main characters are lesbian is not so important for the love story that is presented. This observation in itself is interesting: that a movie about lesbians is actually not about lesbians after all and, moreover, you are not expected to experience that love between lesbians is something out of the ordinary, it is shown as something mundane. As it should be. Would recommend watching.… Expand

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

DAnnePierce

Jun 6, 2014

Does anyone realize that this 15 year old girl was a minor and engaging in sex with an adult? What about the abuse of an adult hitting on a minor? I can appreciate the theme of a girl exploring her sexual orientation but I cannot get around the fact that she was a minor.

2 of 4 users found this helpful22

Pedrokelvi

Jan 1, 2021

Film that has an appeal that is pornography level. In addition to its disgusting backstage stories

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

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10	#10 Best Movie of 2013
96	#96 Most Discussed Movie of 2013
2	#2 Most Shared Movie of 2013