Even though it's not perfect, it's powerful as fuck.
― nostormo, Friday, 29 November 2013 05:47 (ten years ago) link
am watching this morning I thnk
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 29 November 2013 12:57 (ten years ago) link
prosthetics
― + +, Friday, 29 November 2013 15:10 (ten years ago) link
definitely the most important subject in the movie
― nostormo, Friday, 29 November 2013 15:57 (ten years ago) link
Some talk on the Arthouse Cinema thread:
the 3 hour french lesbo movie is incred. i gotta see more kechiche― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, November 16, 2013 3:48 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink...yup. i loved it, too.― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Saturday, November 16, 2013 9:27 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinki've really been scared to do that film, afraid it's not gonna click for me.seeing a lot of young women downtown with blue hair or blue streaks lately, like A LOT more than usual; thinking this may be a millennial signifier?IFC is offering free tickets if you can prove you're from Idaho, lol― ill never click this homo erotic site again (forksclovetofu), Saturday, November 16, 2013 10:54 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinkfwiw i was very skeptical going in. but i thought it was a great piece of filmmaking and the level of performance he got was incredible (especially exarchopoulos). i found it almost painfully intimate and real. it's really engrossing and the 3 hours of lesbian existential pain really whiz by, and as a bonus it left me contemplating all my fucked up relationships afterwards. the sex scenes do sort of demand to be talked about because of how wackadoo they are (i was holding back laughter) but i dont wanna make the movie sound bad. because its good― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Sunday, November 17, 2013 1:25 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkI've seen Black Venus and Secrets of the Grain, to prepare, and both those films have amazing performances, and feel incredibly real. There are long stretches of dancing, eating, and doing humiliating things. Kechiche is really good, I think.― Frederik B, Sunday, November 17, 2013 6:19 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinkthe school one I liked more than Grain.Blue coming to Criterion on Feb 11! Isn't that crazily soon? And later, a deluxe one with extras.― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Sunday, November 17, 2013 9:49 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post PermalinkSo I've been trying to make sense of the sex scenes, which feel like a departure from the film's otherwise naturalistic approach. I mean, the explicitness of what's shown is certainly in keeping with the film's verite style, but the dramatic lighting and the non-stop intensity -- without any build-up, hesitations, or interruptions -- sets those scenes (esp. the first one) apart. I think part of the idea is to show Adele and Emma's sexual connection as taking them to this transcendent and even sacred place, outside of everyday realities. But not only does that subjectivity fit oddly with the rest of the film, Kechiche doesn't fully commit to it, since there are hardly any POV shots; most of the time, their bodies have been framed for the audience's benefit.There are two other scenes in the film that seem significant in relation to those choices: 1) Adele and Emma's trip to the museum, and the presentation of nude female bodies in an elevated aesthetic context, and 2) The party at which the gallery owner mansplains the mystical power of female sexual pleasure. (I've seen suggestions that this latter scene functions as a way for Kechiche to signal his self-awareness about what he himself is doing.)― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:29 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalinkyes, exactly. the editing is what made it almost comic to me, there's no flow between sex acts, its like a greatest hits comp of lurid lesbo stuff. they're like these near-camp interludes (i thought of verhoeven in Showgirls mode) plopped down in random moments. or thats the effect it had on me, kechiche is clearly a canny filmmaker and was trying to say something, idk what...the speech by the gallery owner gives these scenes some context, but only some - i didn't really know how to interpret him. is he meant to be a blowhard? that's how he came off to me but there are no obvious signposts in the scene, the people listening to him nod along and finish his sentences. is he a stand-in for kechiche? is he poking fun at himself & in the process 'lampshading' the sex scenes? is he making a satirical point? or are we meant to take him and his ideas seriously? as you say the sex is staged so oddly, in many shots there's no apparent POV - it's like the two girls are on display. did kechiche just want to film 2 chicks scissoring? its not the most generous reading but i think there's room to suggest that, especially with the troubling reports about his working methods. i had to keep myself from laughing. i thought maybe i was being immature (i mean im just a simple country moviegoer and i guess when it comes down to it i don't know a damn toot about ladies lovin' ladies) but then i read julie maroh's blog and she confirmed that it was comical too so idk.― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:47 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, November 16, 2013 3:48 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
...
yup. i loved it, too.
― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Saturday, November 16, 2013 9:27 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
i've really been scared to do that film, afraid it's not gonna click for me.seeing a lot of young women downtown with blue hair or blue streaks lately, like A LOT more than usual; thinking this may be a millennial signifier?IFC is offering free tickets if you can prove you're from Idaho, lol
― ill never click this homo erotic site again (forksclovetofu), Saturday, November 16, 2013 10:54 PM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
fwiw i was very skeptical going in. but i thought it was a great piece of filmmaking and the level of performance he got was incredible (especially exarchopoulos). i found it almost painfully intimate and real. it's really engrossing and the 3 hours of lesbian existential pain really whiz by, and as a bonus it left me contemplating all my fucked up relationships afterwards. the sex scenes do sort of demand to be talked about because of how wackadoo they are (i was holding back laughter) but i dont wanna make the movie sound bad. because its good
― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Sunday, November 17, 2013 1:25 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
I've seen Black Venus and Secrets of the Grain, to prepare, and both those films have amazing performances, and feel incredibly real. There are long stretches of dancing, eating, and doing humiliating things. Kechiche is really good, I think.
― Frederik B, Sunday, November 17, 2013 6:19 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
the school one I liked more than Grain.
Blue coming to Criterion on Feb 11! Isn't that crazily soon? And later, a deluxe one with extras.
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Sunday, November 17, 2013 9:49 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
So I've been trying to make sense of the sex scenes, which feel like a departure from the film's otherwise naturalistic approach. I mean, the explicitness of what's shown is certainly in keeping with the film's verite style, but the dramatic lighting and the non-stop intensity -- without any build-up, hesitations, or interruptions -- sets those scenes (esp. the first one) apart. I think part of the idea is to show Adele and Emma's sexual connection as taking them to this transcendent and even sacred place, outside of everyday realities. But not only does that subjectivity fit oddly with the rest of the film, Kechiche doesn't fully commit to it, since there are hardly any POV shots; most of the time, their bodies have been framed for the audience's benefit.
There are two other scenes in the film that seem significant in relation to those choices: 1) Adele and Emma's trip to the museum, and the presentation of nude female bodies in an elevated aesthetic context, and 2) The party at which the gallery owner mansplains the mystical power of female sexual pleasure. (I've seen suggestions that this latter scene functions as a way for Kechiche to signal his self-awareness about what he himself is doing.)
― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:29 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
yes, exactly. the editing is what made it almost comic to me, there's no flow between sex acts, its like a greatest hits comp of lurid lesbo stuff. they're like these near-camp interludes (i thought of verhoeven in Showgirls mode) plopped down in random moments. or thats the effect it had on me, kechiche is clearly a canny filmmaker and was trying to say something, idk what...
the speech by the gallery owner gives these scenes some context, but only some - i didn't really know how to interpret him. is he meant to be a blowhard? that's how he came off to me but there are no obvious signposts in the scene, the people listening to him nod along and finish his sentences. is he a stand-in for kechiche? is he poking fun at himself & in the process 'lampshading' the sex scenes? is he making a satirical point? or are we meant to take him and his ideas seriously? as you say the sex is staged so oddly, in many shots there's no apparent POV - it's like the two girls are on display. did kechiche just want to film 2 chicks scissoring? its not the most generous reading but i think there's room to suggest that, especially with the troubling reports about his working methods. i had to keep myself from laughing. i thought maybe i was being immature (i mean im just a simple country moviegoer and i guess when it comes down to it i don't know a damn toot about ladies lovin' ladies) but then i read julie maroh's blog and she confirmed that it was comical too so idk.
― i wanna be a gabbneb baby (Hungry4Ass), Sunday, November 17, 2013 11:47 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Friday, 29 November 2013 16:11 (ten years ago) link
i agree, more or less with what in this discussion:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2278871/board/thread/221957318
Here's how I read Blue Is The Warmest Color: a story about intimacy, class disparities, and how the two inevitably come to blows with each other.
*SPOILERS FROM HERE ON*
Sure, the movie begins as a look at first love (for Adele) and it's a beautiful, almost shockingly authentic depiction of a young person coming into their sexuality. But the narrative is filled with nods to the vast differences between the worlds that Adele and Emma inhabit. And this is where it really gets interesting.
Let's start with Adele. We meet her in the classroom, discussing excerpts from The Life of Marianne, which is about a young woman inducted into the bourgeois circle by her lover. This foreshadows the entire movie. But first, Adele is established as decidedly working class. She attends a populist demonstration with her friends, rallying against the privatization of schools. They sing protest songs together. She goes home and eats spaghetti with her parents.
Then Adele meets Emma, and everything changes.
For the first few years, the sexual attraction between the two overtakes almost all other concerns in Adele's life. The two make love again and again, to the point where their relationship becomes absolute fulfillment for Adele. After all, what else does she have going for her? Teaching, yes, but you never get the sense that Adele views this as anything more than a job that's sometimes interesting. Emma, on the other hand, is mostly fulfilled by her artistic projects; indicative of privilege that Adele was not born into. And for all her talk about Sarte, there's almost no indication that Emma is even remotely politically minded. Adele is temporarily, willfully blind to these differences, but it's clear that they're going to cause problems at some point, and eventually, they do.
I think the turning point in the film - Adele's first moment of lucidity, if you will - is the garden party. Adele cooks all the food and spends nearly the entire evening serving Emma's artist friends, none of whom offer to help. Sure, Adele seems happy to do all this, but then, what else is she supposed to do while all these elites wax about Klimt and congratulate each other? The only person who lends Adele a hand and seems geninely interested in getting to know her is Samir, the actor. His anecdote about playing an Arab terrorist in Hollywood movies is especially important, as it reveals something Adele and Samir have in common. Both of them are blue collar folk who've allowed the privileged class to benefit from using (or even exploiting) their image. Samir indulges Western film audiences by playing the "evil Arab." Adele is Emma's "muse" - the subject of her much-adored, soon-to-be profitable paintings, and from what I could tell, her maid as well.
Ultimately, it's not Adele's cheating that causes the breakup. It's an imbalance of power. Notice how quickly and ferociously Emma kicks Adele out of the apartment when Adele's infidelity is revealed. Of course, Emma is well within her right to be angry and end the relationship, but she doesn't even give Adele a chance to explain herself. This isn't surprising. Artists often place extreme expectations of loyalty upon their muses. Betrayed, Emma discards Adele without a second's hesitation.
But that's not to say Emma was only using Adele. I mean, she *was* using her, but their painful reunion in the cafe reveals that both women genuinely feel something for each other. You can tell that Emma misses aspects of her relationship with Adele, just as Adele longs for Emma's touch and affection again. But here, Emma's one step ahead of Adele. She understands that they can't be romantic partners because of the different worlds they inhabit and the resentment this brings out. I think she still *did* love Adele, but denied it because she couldn't find the words to tell Adele the truth about why they weren't right for each other. There really aren't any right words for such a painful, existential truth.
The closing scene at the gallery is when Adele finally grasps that truth. How could she not, walking around awkwardly with her champagne, watching Emma's friends pour over the paintings in which she's the subject? It's no accident that Samir (now a real estate salesman) makes an appearance during this scene, especially when one gallery patron tells him "acting suited you well." It's an echo of that earlier scene when Emma tried to convince Adele that she should try writing instead of teaching. Adele leaves the gallery realizing that she'll probably never belong to the social circle that Emma inhabits. Samir runs after her, as though riding the same wave of thought.
Anyway, that's my interpretation. What did you all think? What did this movie say to you?
― nostormo, Friday, 29 November 2013 16:23 (ten years ago) link
the sex scenes are the weakest part of the film imo, and not so interesting to talk about.
i think Kechiche made a mistake when choosing to somewhat abandon the political part in the 2nd part of the movie.
obviously, and with connection to other Kechiche's films, it has a blue collar agenda, which call for a "revolution" from WITHIN the conservative society, by people like Adele (Justice in arabic), who struggle between individualism and conformism, and should, in a perfect world, choose both.only from people like Adele the change can come, (not from people like Emma, who took a side, comes from high society and therefore "out of the game".)sexual revolution and liberalism from within conservative society is the key to social correction acoording to Kechiche.
― nostormo, Friday, 29 November 2013 16:40 (ten years ago) link
of course the power struggle and the diffrences vs. similars between the couple is fascinating, and Kechiche knows how to focus on the most important parts in the story. but if there was no Cassavetes in this world, the movie and performences werent as good as they are.
― nostormo, Friday, 29 November 2013 16:46 (ten years ago) link
Anthony Lane was right on in comparing this to The Dream Life of Angels (isn't this set in Lille too?). What impressed itself on me most about both filsm is its depiction of loneliness: how Adele and the main character in TDLOA have barely emerged from an experience so vastating that they can't locate themselves again in normal life.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 29 November 2013 20:51 (ten years ago) link
like, Adele in her twenties is essentially a boring person who STILL hasn't come out yet in other ways, pun intended.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 29 November 2013 20:52 (ten years ago) link
it reminded me of kenny lonergan's Margaret at points... maybe it was the classroom scenes
― http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Friday, 29 November 2013 21:15 (ten years ago) link
Margaret came to mind for me as well. Loved Dreamlife of Angels but barely remember any of it beyond Elodie Bouchez's face.
― Geoffrey Schweppes (jaymc), Friday, 29 November 2013 23:06 (ten years ago) link
ah now there's the magic comparison. guess I have to see this now
― veneer timber (imago), Friday, 29 November 2013 23:55 (ten years ago) link
Agreed.
― Simon H., Saturday, 30 November 2013 00:00 (ten years ago) link
fwiw, At the screening of this nobody laughed at the sex scenes. An important point in the film (although no more or less important than others) but if anything it perhaps should've been one longer scene. My favorite bits were the 'boring' in between scenes: Adele at the end of the school-term (the break for the summer coinciding with the break in their relationship), onto the seaside. The continuous focus on her face as she floats in the sea (and throughout the film) -- the camera's futile search for her internal life -- before the meeting at the bar again.
Adele was made to be more interesting than Emma who almost loses herself as soon as she gets rid of her blue hair and becomes a commercial artist. Has anyone read the comic this is based on? Its almost as if that was the biggest mistake either one of them made.
At the end of this it does seem that Adele locates herself in life again, you could say she understood the feeling she had at the garden party was one of suffocation, but I'd also read it as Adele finally losing any interest in Emma, it dawns that her art and friends are boring. Loved her wanderings, the paintings are partly obscured, maybe a comment on the pathetic figurative paintings of her muses (hilarious this was allowed to be shown anywhere).
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 30 November 2013 10:28 (ten years ago) link
but I'd also read it as Adele finally losing any interest in Emma, it dawns that her art and friends are boring
how'd you get that reading
― http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:34 (ten years ago) link
Adele was made to be more interesting than Emma who almost loses herself as soon as she gets rid of her blue hair and becomes a commercial artist
I didn't see this at all! Part of the movie's power lay in its concentration on a dull woman.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:35 (ten years ago) link
leaving the party early..finding more interest conversing with Samir..
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:37 (ten years ago) link
xpost
i think she felt too insecure to judge all them artsyfartsies like that. its not even like she found samir super fascinating, he just started talking to her like a regular person and she went along with it cuz it was in her comfort zone - that was something that was really well observed about that scene
― http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:47 (ten years ago) link
The conversation with Samir at both dinner party and gallery -- where they talk about what they do, hopes and aspirations, and those questions around how sex compares with men and women, was much more more interesting than anything Emma and her friends had to say Schiele.
I agree that Kechiche ultimately going for a portrait of a simpleton, but its never as er simple as that. I found Adele more interesting.
Its not that Adele judged them -- you need confidence to perform anything like a judgement -- but that Adele learnt it, like she suddenly became aware of it and departed as soon as she could, not even hanging around to talk more to Samir. It felt like Emma was left to rot there, otoh Adele was almost born again, potential to perhaps be realized or not.
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:53 (ten years ago) link
"i think she felt too insecure to judge all them artsyfartsies like that"
if that's true, whats the difference between this scene and the early garden party scene?she felt insecure in both, but on the 2nd scene she decided to leave, giving up on trying.
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:54 (ten years ago) link
i don't think Adelle was a simpleton to begin with.for example, she read a lot in school, and although she doesn't like to analyze, she admits it opens up her imagination etc..
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:57 (ten years ago) link
"but that Adele learnt it, like she suddenly became aware of it and departed as soon as she could, not even hanging around to talk more to Samir. It felt like Emma was left to rot there, otoh Adele was almost born again, potential to perhaps be realized or not."
yep
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:58 (ten years ago) link
Hmm. Adele might be dull -- in large part because she's still unfurling as a person -- but the film doesn't condemn her or Emma. I never got the sense Emma is rotting in an art-damaged world.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:01 (ten years ago) link
" dull -- in large part because she's still unfurling as a person "
this is the exact reason why she is interesting.
a character without conflicts = boring
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:04 (ten years ago) link
At the end of this it does seem that Adele locates herself in life again, you could say she understood the feeling she had at the garden party was one of suffocation, but I'd also read it as Adele finally losing any interest in Emma
thought you were still talking about the garden party scene here
― http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:13 (ten years ago) link
dont agree about 'portrait of a simpleton', or if it is the case then i misjudged kechiche
btw never has spaghetti looked more erotic
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:16 (ten years ago) link
more like Portrait Of a Lady
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:16 (ten years ago) link
the only thing the spaghetti scenes made me feel is hunger
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:18 (ten years ago) link
(i would have embed the "what do lesbians think about the sex scenes in the movie" link from youtube but i don't want this thread to digress to that territory)
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:22 (ten years ago) link
― xyzzzz__, Saturday, November 30, 2013 8:53 AM (21 minutes ago) Bookmark
tbh it just sounds like you were bored by them and wanted her to leave! your read isnt there for me at all but then again the film's strength is in its observation and lack of signposting, its definitely not a 'feel this one way about this scene' movie
― http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, 30 November 2013 14:29 (ten years ago) link
I think the leaving of the gallery party was Adele realizing Emma cared more for her career than anything else, and she would always be more interested in interacting with her art-world friends than her.
― nickn, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:01 (ten years ago) link
I don't read it that way. Emma has a girlfriend with a child. Adele cheated on her. One of the movie's logical leaps is assuming Emma, a product of this broad liberal art-damaged circle, would mind infidelity so much.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:07 (ten years ago) link
(unless, of course, the infidelity realized the fears of dating a woman who hides their relationship from her parents and coworkers)
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:08 (ten years ago) link
It might be that Emma just waited for an excuse to break up with Adelle.She flirted with her soon to be girlfriend at the party.and obviously wasn't satisfied with Adell's lack of artistic ambitions.Also when discovering Adelle's cheating on her she didn't really listen to her reasons.of course she has the right to be angry but she could at least try to understand her.
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:21 (ten years ago) link
emma was just jumping at a chance to end the relationship without being the one who gets her hands dirty. she was checking out already, its foreshadowed in one of the movie's best scenes, where they're in bed together after the garden party and emma is passive-aggressively attempting to prepare adele for life w/o her and adele senses it and just wants to cling even tighter. again, really well observed with a lot of thigns 'happening' all at once. adele's naive and when she acts out she doesn't anticipate how ruthless emma will be
― Hungry4Ass, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:25 (ten years ago) link
^^ one of the better pillow talk scenes I've seen. Man, have I been the Emma too often.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:30 (ten years ago) link
haha same
― Hungry4Ass, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:32 (ten years ago) link
Blue hair?
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:32 (ten years ago) link
I was both
even dyed my crotch hair blue
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:38 (ten years ago) link
Good to know
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 17:40 (ten years ago) link
In the sequel Amma's girlfriend will break up with her and than emma will feel how is it to be on the same side as adelle! The fucking bitch!
― nostormo, Saturday, 30 November 2013 18:10 (ten years ago) link
tbh it just sounds like you were bored by them and wanted her to leave! your read isnt there for me at all but then again the film's strength is in its observation and lack of signposting, its definitely not a 'feel this one way about this scene' movie― https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, November 30, 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
― https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7PvtbkH0I (Hungry4Ass), Saturday, November 30, 2013 Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
This reminded me a bit of the ball scene in Visconti's The Leopard, where that feeling of boredom descends suddenly on Don Fabrizio. Of course he says all of this, but here the action is still cutting.
I wasn't bored by them bcz Kechiche didn't really allow you much time in their company.
― xyzzzz__, Sunday, 1 December 2013 13:55 (ten years ago) link
finally saw this - its kind of a slog, kind of brilliant. both actresses are amazing. the sex scenes were very brave for no other reason that i felt a bit sorry that both girls were so exposed. they also almost made me LOL a few times - didnt feel they were titillated (more weirdly in awe, maybe just cos even in 2013, this seemed weirdly surprising to see at the cinema). but did feel like the sex was there just to shock too, just by being there – without those scenes this would have just been arthouse french realism, a bit like the dardennes. i know critics have said the sex scenes go on too long, but this is a film where EVERY scene is ‘too long’ (by modern hollywood standards). the sex scenes are almost a distraction from what the film is most interested in. though saying that, there was something sensual about them, and something oddly new in how the sex was presented. i never felt it was sexploitation or soft core.
its not perfect, i dont think the director has any great sense of composition or visual texture, but its brilliant for what it does with faces, principally adeles, and close-ups. the whole film is about her face and how expressive she is. and about showing her face at its absolute worst, snotty, teary, greasy, oily, right up close so you could almost see into her pores. its also got brilliant characterisation, particularly with the family setups/family history of the two girls. somewhat heavy handed, but also really tender, coming of age/sexual discovery (without any old cliches)/romance-in-adolescence story with lots of (very french) intellectual diversions (can anyone imagine a british film like this? i couldnt, though i did think of summer of love).
i dont know if i drifted off but i was a bit confused as to when adele left school to become a teacher full time.
― StillAdvance, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 11:23 (ten years ago) link
weird reading that imdb review above - i never thought of emma as having a sense that adele didnt fit into her world, i only saw that from adele's awkwardness around that circle. i only saw emma as unwilling to listen or understand. i never saw adele as working class either - more lower middle, like when her mum says 'its nice to have a man who can work for both of you'.
― StillAdvance, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 11:30 (ten years ago) link
i keep wondering what catherine breillat would have done with this story
― StillAdvance, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 11:33 (ten years ago) link
Dardennes are very dry to me, so even w/out sex scenes it wouldn't have been like that.
Ws wondering whether Adele's face is up to working with the camera...really would need a re-watch.
The whole split because of these differences in worldview (one is so much more cultural/knows more) was bogus wasn't it? Plenty of couples are quite unlike one another and it works. We could write it off as the impossibility of seeing relationships from the outside but it seems like the easy way out to me.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 11:37 (ten years ago) link
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/Classes/Jbutler/T340/Magritte_the-treachery-of-images-this-is-not-a-pipe-1948.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 3 December 2013 17:37 (ten years ago) link
I liked this alright, but the breakup fight is both the worst and most predictable scene in it.
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 8 December 2013 10:53 (ten years ago) link
classroom scenes are v much akin to his L'esquive (a better movie)
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 8 December 2013 10:54 (ten years ago) link
nostormo yr analysis rocks
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Sunday, 8 December 2013 10:56 (ten years ago) link
otm. there was enough space (p.sure the film is about 10 hrs long) to explore more fully the ideas abt class etc than the nods we get
instead, prosthetic fannies
― =(3 Ɛ)= (cozen), Sunday, 8 December 2013 11:00 (ten years ago) link
Thoughts on this: I don't think Adele was ever political. The demo at the beginning is just a youth-thing, every highschool student in europe goes to those things. Adele and her friends act political instead of being political, it's meant to mirror the Gay Pride parade. Actually, most of the film is built of scenes mirroring one another. My reading of the ending is that it mirrors the scene at the lesbian bar. There, Emma turned up by coincidence. In the end, Samir turns the wrong way, again by coincidence. It shows just how much Adele has built her life on what seemed like destiny, but was pretty much coincidences.
― Frederik B, Sunday, 8 December 2013 12:15 (ten years ago) link
Best moment in the film: When Adele acts like a rabbit in front of her kids. She has quite prominent teeth...
― Frederik B, Sunday, 8 December 2013 12:16 (ten years ago) link
Rewatching The Secret of the Grain last week, I noticed an ass-slapping scene.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Sunday, 8 December 2013 12:29 (ten years ago) link
thinking about this in the last few days (perhaps that LWL review quote was wrong after all) and i now wish that it didnt have any sex in it at all (though it would then risk appearing coy and frightened of lesbian sex so maybe im just being prudish or worried about saying i find an actress almost 20 years my junior quite attractive) as it really just makes the film look a little disengenuous in its intentions. OTOH, without them, im not sure this film would really be half as notable as it is. without them, it would just be the latest in a somewhat familiar category in european cinema. still, kudos to kechiche (and francois ozon for jeune et jolie) for bringing back the great tradition of films about teenage girl sexuality made by middle aged men!
― StillAdvance, Sunday, 8 December 2013 16:18 (ten years ago) link
for about half the screening i saw the subtitles started showing up like this: □□□□ This is a line of dialogue □□□― |$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅| (gr8080), Tuesday, December 3, 2013 11:27 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink4 squares in front, three behind, for like 30mins at a time― |$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅| (gr8080), Tuesday, December 3, 2013 11:28 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
□□□□ This is a line of dialogue □□□
― |$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅| (gr8080), Tuesday, December 3, 2013 11:27 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
4 squares in front, three behind, for like 30mins at a time
― |$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅| (gr8080), Tuesday, December 3, 2013 11:28 AM (5 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
omg yes what was this about
― Noblesse J. Blige (jaymc), Sunday, 8 December 2013 16:29 (ten years ago) link
Emojis that didn't make it through the subtitle software.
― Divvy Bikes to Watch Out For (Eazy), Sunday, 8 December 2013 17:17 (ten years ago) link
As someone who has seen the first Hobbit movie, Josh in Chicago, perhaps three hours of your life isn't as precious as you think.
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 08:38 (ten years ago) link
I'm trying to pin down whether this film is great or whether it is simply a great version of a film we've all seen before.
also, you only need to see about one film every 40 years if you take the more stringent option.
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 13:02 (ten years ago) link
I'm waiting for this one to be released in 3D at a high frame rate.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:19 (ten years ago) link
Boy there would be some uncomfortable scenes if that were to happen...
― Frederik B, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:47 (ten years ago) link
would def watch those spaghetti scenes in 3D
― |$̲̅(̲̅ιοο̲̅)̲̅$̲̅| (gr8080), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 14:56 (ten years ago) link
I worried about the symbolism of the spaghetti until it showed up at the gf's art party.
Listened to a podcast where two SWM critics worried that the spanking made the sex seem like p0rn.
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:44 (ten years ago) link
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-El-KfL-Gi-E/UM05RZj91vI/AAAAAAAAaPc/PigCMSDqhBg/s1600/Lady+and+Tramp+spaghetti.jpg
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:49 (ten years ago) link
My parents are coming over for dinner tomorrow night. Spaghetti.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:50 (ten years ago) link
Spaghetti is my family's "2nd Christmas" dinner this year.
― Alfre, Lord Woodard (Eric H.), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:50 (ten years ago) link
I mean, jeez, who gets off without spanking, on a vanilla night?
― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 15:58 (ten years ago) link
"A worm crawls out of the spaghetti and says 'that was some gang bang!'"
― repent, harpies (DavidM), Tuesday, 17 December 2013 22:54 (ten years ago) link
not funny. also wrong: orgy.
― nostormo, Tuesday, 17 December 2013 22:58 (ten years ago) link
"A worm crawls out of a plate of spaghetti and says 'that was some gang bang!'""How sweet!""'Sweet' may not be the word"
― painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture (DavidM), Wednesday, 18 December 2013 12:57 (ten years ago) link
My attention didn’t flag, and at three hours, that’s a compliment right there. Lead performances mostly excellent--no idea if Adèle Exarchopoulos has any chance at an Academy Award, but I don’t think I saw anyone else who was better this year. (The make-up department maybe overdid her disheveledness now and again; thought of that line from Touch of Evil a couple of times, “You’re a mess, honey.”) More explicit than I expected. The first half especially had a sure hand. One excellent moment I wish the director hadn’t cut short: the kindergarten kids start nap time, and there’s a shot of Adèle in repose as their beautiful nap-time music plays. (They still have nap time in France? We had it in 1966, but it’s long gone over here.)
Same reservations as expressed by others above: some of it (the break-up scene the worst offender) is very conventional. Not sure that I read the ending correctly, but if so, I’d be interested in hearing anyone who thought the ending of Nebraska was obvious explain how the ending here isn’t doubly so. (Which can't be done without spelling it out, so never mind.)
― clemenza, Thursday, 2 January 2014 03:05 (ten years ago) link
Me too! And I didn't drift once. She was talking about her dream of becoming a teacher in one scene, then she woke up the next day and she was a teacher.
― clemenza, Thursday, 2 January 2014 03:13 (ten years ago) link
It wasn't the obviousness of the ending to Nebraska that was the problem but that it felt tacked on? Not too much that happened previously pointed to it. Whereas here she was going to move on towards some kind of unknown future at some point?
― xyzzzz__, Thursday, 2 January 2014 11:34 (ten years ago) link
I had the same interpretation of the ending as nostormo above (it's been out long enough that I probably don't need to be so careful), which would be fairly conventional, if not obvious. It was actually Morbius who called Nebraska's ending obvious the other day; I found the ending very satisfying and logical. I was fine with Blue's ending, just didn't think it was any more subtle or meaningful than Nebraska's.
― clemenza, Thursday, 2 January 2014 14:28 (ten years ago) link
Steaming on Netflix...
― That's So (Eazy), Wednesday, 12 March 2014 04:27 (ten years ago) link
Pun intended?
― nickn, Wednesday, 12 March 2014 04:40 (ten years ago) link
i watched 2/3 of this today. not so interested in seeing the last 1/3 when the relationship goes south, but i loved what i saw. the close ups were great. the main things i liked were all the closeups and the fact that adele was sort of a gross slob, especially when she was eating ham at the picnic.
― très hip (Treeship), Saturday, 19 April 2014 03:48 (nine years ago) link
i got a kick out of adele in general, just her lazy vibe and hilarious facial expressions.
― très hip (Treeship), Saturday, 19 April 2014 03:53 (nine years ago) link
Aw you ruined my poem! Not cool
― forum enthusiast (wins), Saturday, 19 April 2014 07:24 (nine years ago) link
watched this for the first time since the theaters 5 years ago. it's the movie Burt Reynolds wants to make at the end of Boogie Nights: a compelling dramatic narrative pornography. the performances are great, but the characters are so one-dimensional, speaking boilerplate, going thru the most common relationship arc there is, punctuated by some wild sex scenes. this is a powerfully erotic movie, not powerful & erotic (like Carol). I find it amusing that it's subtitled at the end "Part 1 of 2: Life of Adele" or something, I'd like to see it but that's never going to happen... didn't everyone that worked on this movie say that Kechiche was a piece of shit?
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 05:30 (five years ago) link
read something about that. glad the two actresses shared the Palme with the director, the performances were amazing
― Dan S, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 05:47 (five years ago) link
Anyone see his latest? Mektoub, My Love: Canto Uno. I'm guessing there's not going to be a 'Canto Due' of that either. It's a pretty good tic, though.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 07:45 (five years ago) link
Thought the revive was going to be about this story:
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/oct/31/blue-is-the-warmest-colour-director-abdellatif-kechiche
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 09:30 (five years ago) link
:( Though honestly this is one of the least surprising ones.
― Frederik B, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 15:19 (five years ago) link
yeah, and now I'm remembering by the time this movie came out in the US it was already surrounded by a miasma of misconduct
― flappy bird, Wednesday, 5 December 2018 17:27 (five years ago) link
The trailer for the new Abdellatif Kechiche film looks intriguing pic.twitter.com/SzrRvz4wJZ— Eric Allen Hatch (@ericallenhatch) June 15, 2019
― flappy bird, Saturday, 15 June 2019 06:04 (four years ago) link
This was on Film4 last night and I managed about two hours before getting bored of the camera gawping at Adele's mopey face and not so mopey arse. Which is a shame because I really liked the early part of the film and Adele Exarchopoulos' performance is amazing. The sex scenes are ludicrous but I imagine the director enjoyed them.
― Future England Captain (Tom D.), Saturday, 27 June 2020 13:57 (three years ago) link
The whole film is a never-ending Lenny face.
― pomenitul, Saturday, 27 June 2020 14:11 (three years ago) link
Butts is the warmest color
― calstars, Saturday, 27 June 2020 14:28 (three years ago) link
Isn't this the chump whose much derided latest features long stretches of nothing but twerking and oral sex?
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 27 June 2020 14:31 (three years ago) link
careers have been built on less
― brooklyn suicide cult (Dr Morbius), Saturday, 27 June 2020 14:34 (three years ago) link
I believe his latest film is a breakthrough in the onscreen depiction of twerking, yes.
― Future England Captain (Tom D.), Saturday, 27 June 2020 14:41 (three years ago) link
― flappy bird, Saturday, 27 June 2020 15:52 (three years ago) link
is there a single female post itt
― below the mendoza (rip van wanko), Sunday, 28 June 2020 03:13 (three years ago) link
Probably not, how many women post on ILX still? 5?
― flappy bird, Sunday, 28 June 2020 04:17 (three years ago) link
(xp) That's exactly what I was thinking reading the inexplicably positive responses to this film itt. I do wonder if anyone's changed their mind since though.
― Future England Captain (Tom D.), Sunday, 28 June 2020 09:22 (three years ago) link