BEST OF 2010-2014 #9 BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR

Blue is the Warmest Color is one of the most romantic movies I’ve ever encountered, often times transcending what we normally expect from a “love story,” and on numerous occasions becomes something else entirely: a direct peek into another person’s soul. A raw and incredibly open glimpse at a woman experiencing a sexual and spiritual awakening filled with both her inner most desires ...and deepest uncertainties, Blue is the Warmest Color unfolds with grace and simplicity, and is guided by two of the most fearless performances that I’ve ever seen from any actor or actress in my lifetime from Adele Exarchopoulous and Lea Sedoux. Writer-director Abdellatif Kechiche favors naturalism above all else, and he’s clearly fascinated with the daily minutiae of everyday life. As his camera fixes its stare on his characters, you get the sense that he’s a filmmaker who’s constantly searching for that perfect moment of clarity: that one beat where you can say to yourself – that’s life at its purest. This film reminds you that love is unexplainable and comes at us in various forms and shapes and sizes, at any moment that it chooses, and that when we’re least expecting it, our lives can forever be altered by just a glance at the right (or wrong) person. Blue is the Warmest Color is a study of human behavior, and how we act and react in a variety of situations and contexts. What does it mean to love and what does it mean to know when your love isn’t enough for another person? Every kiss in this film is felt, every bite of food or sip of wine is tasted, every moment is savored as if it might be the last. The sexuality on display will leave many people speechless; you become privy to two people exploring the boundaries of themselves and one another, and in those moments, you feel as if you’re in that room with them, a curious observer to something private and extraordinary. Everything in Blue is the Warmest Color feels real. There’s a lover’s quarrel that feels as scary and as intense as any cinematic fight has ever felt (or at least that I’ve seen); it’s shockingly believable and phenomenally sad because every verbal sling feels like an honest dent in the armor.