Not many would discuss philosophy at garden parties, but if anyone actually does, then it’s probably the French.Īdèle Exarchopoulos is a real find, effortlessly natural, warm and convincing as a nervy teenager on a voyage of passionate self-discovery. The film works as a heartfelt coming-of-age romance, as a mature exploration of sexuality and sense of self, as a fascinating snapshot of contemporary French society, all presented in a way, as Eddie Izzard would describe it that is “kinda French”. The most erotic part of the whole film is when the two leads are fully clothed, ungraceful and awkward in a cafe, and is far more involving and sexually charged than any of the seedy, over-choreographed male gaze-driven scenes of them in the buff.Įverything else is pretty solid. Supposedly, Adèle Exarchopoulos was cast because of the distinctive way she ate, and that certainly comes off on film.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much food consumed on film, and it’s all shoveled in without airs and graces, in domestic settings while talking or watching TV.

You can also tell that a man directed these scenes, and understand the two leads’ bad blood with him for their treatment.įar sexier are the numerous scenes of eating (not like that). Let’s not avoid the obvious – there’s a lot of sex in the film, and film sex is almost never sexy.

We follow the ins and outs of their relationship over several years, and watch as their professional and personal lives begin to compete. Adèle’s focus in life is shifted irreversibly when she falls in love with an older blue-haired art student, Emma (Seydoux) and consequently gets cruelly ostracised by her clique of school friends. With a film receiving such acclaim, perhaps I was always going to be disappointed, and I was slightly.Īdèle ( Exarchopoulos) is a typical, if shy, French teenager – she goes to school, gossips with friends, fantasises about falling in love, has a comfortable home life with her parents. Love at first…: Quat’sous Films/Wild BunchīLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR stole the show at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, with critics showering it with praise for the sterling work of writer-director Abdellatif Kechiche, and particularly the film’s two leads Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux.

Blue is the warmest colour (2013)