About The Red and Black (Athens, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 6, 2014)
34 AMPERSAND | FEB/MAR 2014 BY: ELIZABETH VOGAN ITOS BY: ANNA PENCE Two naked bodies collide together in an endless array of stark positions. This bodily puzzle assembles itself to the sound of continual moaning and slapping of skin. These seven minutes are only some of the striking moments that have stirred a lot of attention about the film, Blue is the Warmest Color. However, just as love is more than sex, this film is more than its highly criticized sex scenes. This love story about two French women arose in the form of a graphic novel by Julie Maroh. Director Abdellatif Kechiche then brought his own interpretation to the Cannes Film Festival where it won the highest prize, the Palme d’Or. “I had many impressions and suspicions about Blue is the Warmest Color... After all 187 minutes though, I walked out of the theater knowing it would be one of my top five films of the year,” says University of Geor gia English student Dafna Kaufman. Her response sounds like what you would expect from a winner of such a prestigious film festival, but not everyone was left with a positive reaction. Brendan Boyle, a UGA graduate and film buff, the same awe was not provoked. “I fully agreed with the restrictive rating. The sex scenes, which are rather drawn out, take place in the early stages of Adele and Emma’s relationship,” says Boyle, who claims the film was traditional and utterly forgettable. “The only real dramatic development that they illustrate is Adele’s sexual awakening,” He adds that it’s a shame the film has received so much pub licity and should in no way be seen as a groundbreaking film for LGBT cinema. “I don’t find the sex scenes necessary for the interpretation of relationships in the film. These scenes are more a representation this film is more than its highly criticized sex scenes. of a fantasy to me, an exploration,” says Oriana Valencia, a UGA graduate who previously worked at Cine. Despite the possibly overdone sex scenes, there is much more to be applauded about the film. Valencia continues that despite the drawn-out displays and critical movie reviews, there is more to grasp than the sex. Something very human and very relatable arises from the characters. This film portrays the “growth and deterioration of a relation ship and furthermore the growth of maturity of Adele throughout the film,” adds Valencia. “What struck me about this very French indie flick was not the seven minute, relatively graphic sex scene...what I found was the amazingly fluid character develop ment and staunch realism that carried the plot,” says Kaufman. According to Manny Lage, a manager of Cine and film studies graduate of UGA, the film was even brought back a few weeks after being taken down. “The original run of the film was only six days, but in that time, it outsold the other opening film we had that week, which was a Robert Redford film. Considering Blue is a three hour long french film that is rated NC-17, it is really impressive,” says Lage. Clearly there have been discrepancies in the necessity for the intimate scenes to show so much, whether they add to the film, or whether they even appear realistic. However, following the judges’ praise, viewers have also been strongly affected by the raw beauty that the film exudes through extreme close ups, endearing character development and yes — unrestrained sex scenes. “It speaks to the pain and emotion of first love, slashing bound aries of sexuality,” says Kaufman.
