There was a period in my life when I just couldn’t get enough of French films. There was a lot of smoking and little speaking and I soaked in the sparseness. French films don’t mind showing people just thinking or brooding or – yes – that ubiquitous smoking. (Note: I only enjoy movie smoking, where no one has to get cancer or hack up a lung.)
I haven’t watched as many of late. Though I feel that’s a symptom of an overall improvement in television offering more than a decline in my Francophile tendencies. OK, fine, I also like to brood less now. I blame “Twilight,” ruining vampires and brooding for us all.
But, no matter what, this year I will see at least one French film. And that film will be “Blue Is the Warmest Color.” You know – the coming-of-age lesbian love story that was a sensation at Cannes only to be followed by a sensational clash between the actresses and director about the grueling shoot and then a sensational breakdown by the director who is now questioning whether the film should be released at all. No, really. All of this has happened.
Yet still, I’m a sucker for a good love story, especially a lesbian love story. And even though – and this is not a spoiler, just a guess – this sounds like one of those love stories that can’t end well for all parties involved (it is a French film after all, and words like “searing” and “shattering” keep getting used by critics to describe it) I simply cannot wait. I’m just a sucker for the brooding, I guess. C'est la vie.
You should watch Jeune&Jolie, a recently released French FIlm. It's very fascinating, sexy and a psychologically terrifying.
ReplyDeleteHad the chance to see it about a month ago on a film festival, and I gotta say i really loved it. Girls did an amazing job, and the story is quite captivating. Though it's like 3 hours long, it flies by, you won't even notice.
ReplyDeleteas for the notorious scene... well, though I knew to expect pretty explicit stuff, I certainly wasn't prepared for THAT ;)
It seems that the distributor (not sure of he english term here) of the movie doesn't want to get too involved with LGBT media. If you can google translate this :
ReplyDeletehttp://yagg.com/2013/09/25/pourquoi-vous-ne-verrez-pas-la-vie-dadele-au-jeudi-cest-gay-friendly
You'll read that a famous LGBT webzine got its request of a special screening (at an event they use to have eah month) turned down.
I lost interest in seeing it when I read this:
ReplyDeleteWere the sex scenes between you two unsimulated? They look so real.
Léa: No, we had fake pussies that were molds of our real pussies. It was weird to have a fake mold of your pussy and then put it over your real one. We spent 10 days on just that one scene. It wasn’t like, “OK, today we’re going to shoot the sex scene!” It was 10 days.
http://preview.tinyurl.com/mne4v37
as a french, i should say what a bad movie...FF asap,and the controversy is terrible
ReplyDeleteand it's choregraphy only..whatever they said
ReplyDeleteThe director is a pompous ass. Get some standards Dorothy.
ReplyDeleteOh no,art being made by pompous asses? Darn. I thought all art was made by the purest of angels...
ReplyDeleteThe director attacked his actresses, and seemingly abused them from their accounts all the while he acts victimized. The lesbian writer of the original story hates what he did with it. This movie is flat out disgusting and if after all that you still want to watch it, then as far as I'm concerned it reflects badly on your character.
ReplyDeleteThe Original comic is available now in the US. Check it out.
ReplyDeleteAre they afraid people in America will realize it's a French movie with SUBTITLES OMG and run away if there's any dialogue? How silly.
ReplyDeleteAs for the smoking and the brooding, it's funny to get an outside perspective as it never occurred to me. But I guess it has to do with the kind of foreign movies that are released in the US in the first place. By that same logic, all American movies would be about people shooting each other and cars exploding and obviously that's not the case ;-)
Read for yourself what the author of the original story had to say: http://www.juliemaroh.com/2013/05/27/le-bleu-dadele/ English version pdf: http://sd-4.archive-host.com/membres/up/204771422545612119/Adele_blue.pdf.
ReplyDeleteIf you really must see this movie, catch it online for free. Or buy the author's book. If you pay to see it, you are supporting it's makers & the troubling gender inequality that permeates the film industry. In a world increasingly obsessed with only the bottom line, you get what you pay for! Your money IS your voice. Use it!
Speaking of French films...
ReplyDeleteWater Lilies (2007) I thought was a really good film. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0869977/
I'm anxious to see Blue and compare the two despite all the other stuff being written in the media.
Despite the whole issues around director, acctresses etc. this is an amazing movie, the most touching lesbian love story I have ever seen (and I am pretty addicted to movies depicting lesbians and see a lot of them). Don't turn down this movie because director fights with acctresses and Julie Maroh does not like it. But I agree with what was said before - the sex scene shocked me and I was prepered to see really explicit stuff....
ReplyDelete