Blue is the Warmest Colour: Exploring the fine line between realism and pornography
Celestine Stilwell
3 December 2020
3 December 2020
In 2013, Blue is the Warmest Colour premiered at the Cannes Film Festival where it unanimously won the ‘Palme d’Or’, and was the first film to have this title awarded to both the director, Abdellatif Kechiche, and the two leading actresses, Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux. Despite receiving initial praise, when it premiered in North America, the film sparked controversy surrounding its explicitly sexual nature, with attention placed on a sex scene that lasts around seven minutes. The critic Manohla Dargis stated that it ‘feels far more about Mr. Kechiche’s desires than anything else’. Following the film’s success, both leading actresses Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux addressed Kechiche’s ruthless working hours and difficult behaviour during filming, which adds credibility to the critical opinion that his work was driven by personal desire rather than artistic vision. Notwithstanding Kechiche’s intentions behind the sexual content, it can be argued that the sex scenes in Blue is the Warmest Colour are a comment on realism rather than a patriarchal pornographic depiction.
The three-hour long film based on a graphic novel by Julie Maroh, follows the character Adele (Exarchopoulos) from her school days to adulthood as she traverses her transgressive sexual emotions. The film is set in Lille, which provides a scenic but modestly real background, rather than the typical romanticised Paris. In her final year at school, Adele meets Emma (Lea Seydoux), an older art student, with whom she starts a passionate relationship. The two have a house together, where Adele, now a teacher, becomes the muse for the blossoming artist, Emma. Through a series of events, the two separate explosively, and the film continues to follow Adele for three years. Finally, the two meet again but their relationship has eroded. Adele attends Emma’s art show, in a symbolic blue dress, but turns around and walks out. Their relationship is intense, and beautiful, with their sexual intimacy being foundational in communicating the emotional journey of sexuality.
Realism is a distinctive feature of Blue is the Warmest Colour; Kechiche’s choice to omit music throughout the entire film (excluding music that is background noise to the natural scene), adds a definite ‘awkwardness’ of daily life. For example, when Emma is introduced to Adele’s family eating dinner and watching television, their silences and avoidance of one another involve the audience and foreshadow the complexity of the protagonist’s relationship. Adele’s particularly messy way of eating may be an indicator of her youth, when compared to her formal preparation of food later in the movie. The scene seems to last a little too long and becomes slightly uncomfortable, a theme of Kechiche’s editing choices. Similarly, at various points in the movie it can be assumed the actors are improvising: when Adele and Emma invite their friends for dinner, Adele speaks to a friend and a bug lands on his face, which she swats away and then promptly continues her conversation. When Adele is seen crying, especially following Emma’s anger at her adultery, Kechiche includes Adele’s nose running. These scenes have a raw aesthetic quality, and sometimes the realism of shaking camera angles does detract from the cinematography, but Kechiche builds in the relationship of the viewer with the characters by making it as personal as possible. Critic Charles Taylor comments that ‘Instead of fencing its young lovers within a petting zoo [...] Kechiche removes the barriers that separate us from them. He brings the camera so close to the faces of his actresses that he seems to be trying to make their flesh more familiar to us than his own.’ Close-up shots are a characteristic of this movie, especially when the characters themselves are close. Before Adele and Emma’s first kiss, as they become physically closer, the shots also focus on the minute facial movements, and the details of their skin. It would be feasible to suggest that the main point of this film is an exploration of personal intimacy and relationships.
Adele is seen to have two sexual relationships, and she also confesses to sleeping with a colleague later in the film. Kechiche’s decision not to include Adele’s third sexual partner is logical. Adele keeps this relationship as a secret from Emma, and represses the truth of it within herself; thus, Kechiche’s choice to conceal this relationship from the viewer is symbolic in revealing its lack of worth and intimacy compared to Emma and Adele’s intense sexual relationship. Additionally, the sexual scenes are extensive and bookend almost every wholesome scene of Emma and Adele at the beginning of the film. As their relationship evolves and the blue dye symbolically fades from Emma’s hair, their sex scenes completely deteriorate, along with their intimacy generally. Arguably, Kechiche explores convincingly the role of sex in relationships, where other films do not venture for the fear of being labelled as ‘pornographic’.
Perhaps there is something to say, however, about the depiction of lesbian sex in the film. The characters frequently move positions and are sexually adventurous, which might be perceived as taking away from the intimacy of the two characters, and could potentially be viewed as ‘for the patriarchal male gaze’. However, the sex scenes also have a focus on facial features and the movement of the body. These scenes are long and awkward to watch, as it feels as if this intimacy should be private, but it can be argued that in a passionate relationship such as the one depicted this is an honest representation of sex: experimental, awkward and personal.
The inclusion of sexual intimacy Blue is the Warmest Colour is a widely debated critical choice in terms of it’s addition to, or detraction from the film. As it is already a comment on realism and the emotional complexities of sexuality and relationships, arguably the extensive sexual nature adds another dimension to the film. Without it, the film would be much less passionate, and the characters much more one dimensional. The fact that a male director took on a complex lesbian relationship may be one of the reasons that the LGBTQIA+ community has found difficulty with the practical portrayal of sex in the film. Nevertheless, it is evident that without the on-screen sexual relationship between Adele and Emma, their intimacy would be less personal and intense to the viewer. These scenes add both realism and passion to this cinematically and symbolically beautiful film.
The three-hour long film based on a graphic novel by Julie Maroh, follows the character Adele (Exarchopoulos) from her school days to adulthood as she traverses her transgressive sexual emotions. The film is set in Lille, which provides a scenic but modestly real background, rather than the typical romanticised Paris. In her final year at school, Adele meets Emma (Lea Seydoux), an older art student, with whom she starts a passionate relationship. The two have a house together, where Adele, now a teacher, becomes the muse for the blossoming artist, Emma. Through a series of events, the two separate explosively, and the film continues to follow Adele for three years. Finally, the two meet again but their relationship has eroded. Adele attends Emma’s art show, in a symbolic blue dress, but turns around and walks out. Their relationship is intense, and beautiful, with their sexual intimacy being foundational in communicating the emotional journey of sexuality.
Realism is a distinctive feature of Blue is the Warmest Colour; Kechiche’s choice to omit music throughout the entire film (excluding music that is background noise to the natural scene), adds a definite ‘awkwardness’ of daily life. For example, when Emma is introduced to Adele’s family eating dinner and watching television, their silences and avoidance of one another involve the audience and foreshadow the complexity of the protagonist’s relationship. Adele’s particularly messy way of eating may be an indicator of her youth, when compared to her formal preparation of food later in the movie. The scene seems to last a little too long and becomes slightly uncomfortable, a theme of Kechiche’s editing choices. Similarly, at various points in the movie it can be assumed the actors are improvising: when Adele and Emma invite their friends for dinner, Adele speaks to a friend and a bug lands on his face, which she swats away and then promptly continues her conversation. When Adele is seen crying, especially following Emma’s anger at her adultery, Kechiche includes Adele’s nose running. These scenes have a raw aesthetic quality, and sometimes the realism of shaking camera angles does detract from the cinematography, but Kechiche builds in the relationship of the viewer with the characters by making it as personal as possible. Critic Charles Taylor comments that ‘Instead of fencing its young lovers within a petting zoo [...] Kechiche removes the barriers that separate us from them. He brings the camera so close to the faces of his actresses that he seems to be trying to make their flesh more familiar to us than his own.’ Close-up shots are a characteristic of this movie, especially when the characters themselves are close. Before Adele and Emma’s first kiss, as they become physically closer, the shots also focus on the minute facial movements, and the details of their skin. It would be feasible to suggest that the main point of this film is an exploration of personal intimacy and relationships.
Adele is seen to have two sexual relationships, and she also confesses to sleeping with a colleague later in the film. Kechiche’s decision not to include Adele’s third sexual partner is logical. Adele keeps this relationship as a secret from Emma, and represses the truth of it within herself; thus, Kechiche’s choice to conceal this relationship from the viewer is symbolic in revealing its lack of worth and intimacy compared to Emma and Adele’s intense sexual relationship. Additionally, the sexual scenes are extensive and bookend almost every wholesome scene of Emma and Adele at the beginning of the film. As their relationship evolves and the blue dye symbolically fades from Emma’s hair, their sex scenes completely deteriorate, along with their intimacy generally. Arguably, Kechiche explores convincingly the role of sex in relationships, where other films do not venture for the fear of being labelled as ‘pornographic’.
Perhaps there is something to say, however, about the depiction of lesbian sex in the film. The characters frequently move positions and are sexually adventurous, which might be perceived as taking away from the intimacy of the two characters, and could potentially be viewed as ‘for the patriarchal male gaze’. However, the sex scenes also have a focus on facial features and the movement of the body. These scenes are long and awkward to watch, as it feels as if this intimacy should be private, but it can be argued that in a passionate relationship such as the one depicted this is an honest representation of sex: experimental, awkward and personal.
The inclusion of sexual intimacy Blue is the Warmest Colour is a widely debated critical choice in terms of it’s addition to, or detraction from the film. As it is already a comment on realism and the emotional complexities of sexuality and relationships, arguably the extensive sexual nature adds another dimension to the film. Without it, the film would be much less passionate, and the characters much more one dimensional. The fact that a male director took on a complex lesbian relationship may be one of the reasons that the LGBTQIA+ community has found difficulty with the practical portrayal of sex in the film. Nevertheless, it is evident that without the on-screen sexual relationship between Adele and Emma, their intimacy would be less personal and intense to the viewer. These scenes add both realism and passion to this cinematically and symbolically beautiful film.