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| If you look hard enough in Hollywood, you can find pieces of Samuel's sheddings |
It seemed that this was the beginning of a pattern in shitty projection practices, as the movie I saw the very next day was too low on the screen, and it was a foreign film with subtitles, effectively obscuring everything everyone was saying in the black bar below where the actual screen was.
Thankfully, the good people at the Tivoli fixed the error after a couple of minutes, and I was able to forget about it and start watching the movie without distraction.
It was, what one might call, a quality film.
But I was very excited to see that it was playing near me, because it's well known, new, and leads to so much discussion. I was gonna be a real badass and watch 12 Years a Slave and The Butler and then compare them in this review, but I thought this was a better choice.
And with SLIFF (Saint Louis International Film Festival) rearing its head, I need to save my money...
More On the Director
Abdellatif Kechiche is just as hard to work with as it is to pronounce his name (allegedly). Normally I'd start by going over some of his previous work, but I thought I'd zing you guys first.
It's probably the most important thing (and by that I mean interesting) I can say about him to provide background to this movie. You don't need to look hard at all to see that the film went through a very troubled production and that most of the crew hated Kechiche, accusing him of harassment and labor law violations. Even the two main actresses said they would never work with him again. Ouch.
This reminds me a lot of Last Tango in Paris (1972). It too, went through a tense production, and people involved with the film, notably Maria Schneider, have spoken out against its director, Bernardo Bertolucci. The difference here is you can totally see that reflected in the film.
So to badly segue from that, Abdellatif has directed a few other films before this, his first being La Faute à Voltaire (2000) and another, The Secret of the Grain (2007) which also won the FIPRESCI. For those wondering, the FIPRESCI is an award given out at many film festivals like the one in Venice as well as Cannes.
The Movie
Like I said, I thought this movie was amazing. I think the first thing I want to mention is that there is a beloved movie-going practice that I believe is starting to fade away and it shouldn't. Remember how at the end of a movie, instead of going straight into what to do next, we asked each other what our favorite parts were? Let's do that now.
One of my favorite parts of the movie was near the beginning. It's probably best to do a little premise summary here.
The movie is about a young girl named Adele (as evidenced from its french title, La Vie D'Adele - Chapitres 1 & 2). She's a junior in high school, just approaching the time when many girls her age discover their sexuality, and it is at this time that she starts feeling attraction to the same sex. She has many experiences with both sexes as both friends and lovers, particularly with a blue-haired girl named Emma who she gets into a lesbian relationship with, and all the while desperately tries to find herself. In that description, I kind of made it sound like a feel-good, teen coming-of-age movie. This isn't really true, the film is too heavy and dramatic to be a feel good movie and transcends the coming of age genre.
But back to my favorite part.
There's a scene near the beginning, where after being led on by a classmate, she tries coming on to her in the bathroom. She is let down very nicely and thoughtfully by her friend, and yet the scene is so heartbreaking. It's the first girl she's made an attempt at romance with, having struggled so hard with coming to terms with her feelings for women, and when she accepts it and goes for a girl who shows interest in her, she is painfully rejected. It's a really sad moment, but in some ways it's kind of sweet. On one level it's light, a rejection scene we can all identify with; but on a deeper level it's really traumatic, because it's one more thing adding to Adele's insecurity.
These scenes of disappointment and insecurity are something we see a lot in the movie, especially in the first half, and it flows well into the latter half of the movie. A lot of the themes of this movie change in their presentation and nature as Adele grows as a character. One of the big symbols in the movie seems to constantly be re-evaluated. As evidenced by the title, blue is a huge thing in the movie. That sounded pretty rough. Blue is a strong, reoccurring visual motif and symbol in the film. How's that?
It's not just about Adele's love interest, Emma, having blue hair, it's about blue having an overwhelming presence in the color palette. It can be difficult in a movie to try to discern the meaning of repeated images, colors, or symbols. The role of blue here is less of "blue is a symbol for x" but more that blue attaches itself to people, places, or things that represent the desires of Adele (that's a really rough explanation). The color blue places itself wherever Adele goes to look for comfort, reinforcement, love, security, etc. So what's really happening is that blue is a tangible, visual means to make an emotion or concept physical. It makes for a physically beautiful and stunning film and an intriguing and well developed message.
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| There were better examples, but I didn't want to spoil one of the best images in the film |
Another thing I wanted to talk about was controversy surrounding the amount of sex scenes in the film. Some people are questioning the merit of the lesbian sex sequences, which are admittedly graphic, not simulated, and long. Some people are even throwing the word "pornography" around. Let me just say that, regardless of whether the sex scenes were necessary or not, it's fucking dumb to call it pornography. Pornography, by definition, appeals mainly to prurient interests and has no explicitly artistic merit*. The sex scenes certainly are drawn out, and to a certain audiences, can even be titillating. But it has astouding relevance to the story. The length and explicitness depicted in them is simply a directorial choice on a scene that definitely has a place in the film. I think it's important to note that the 3 or 4 sex scenes in this three hour film amount to about 20% or less of the total run time, while a 90 minute, low budget horror film today can have up to 50% sexual or nude scenes (which have less relevance to the story).
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| Looking at you |
Some more things the film draws on is the transition from childhood to adulthood, the shock that is felt when you're suddenly an adult, and many decisions you make can have serious repercussions.
There's a lot of discussion between characters over how to view and understand art. There's a really great scene with Adele and a boy trying to date her where they talk about books, and whether it's better to analyze and dissect the fine details and purposes of an authors work, or let it be up to your imagination. There's some sneaky hints to the director's opinion on this debate in the film as well.
There's also a lot of questions posed in the movie about destiny and finding one's life purpose. The latter concept is actually examined frequently in the film. There are so many themes and ideas that it's hardly just a love story about lesbians like the posters would have you believe.
It's got a little something something for everyone.
And by a little I mean a lot.
Movies I Also Saw This Week
Hard Eight (1996)**, King Kong*** (1933), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
*I tried being as vague as possible in this. I think the person shooting, directing, or editing that porno considers it his or her art. It wouldn't be fair to say it has no merit at all, just like it isn't fair to say a movie is pornographic for having sex scenes.
**First film by Paul Thomas Anderson, last one I got around to seeing. It was...okay.
***re-watch
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