Blue Is the Warmest Colour

For the graphic novel, see Blue Is the Warmest Color (comics).

Blue Is the Warmest Colour
Theatrical release poster
FrenchLa Vie d'Adèle
Directed byAbdellatif Kechiche
Screenplay byAbdellatif Kechiche
Ghalia Lacroix
Based onBlue Is the Warmest Color
by Jul Maroh
Produced byAbdellatif Kechiche
Brahim Chioua
Vincent Maraval
StarringLéa Seydoux
Adèle Exarchopoulos
CinematographySofian El Fani
Edited byAlbertine Lastera
Camille Toubkis
Sophie Brunet
Ghalia Lacroix
Jean-Marie Lengelle
Production
companies
Wild Bunch
Quat'sous Films
France 2 Cinéma
Scope Pictures
Vértigo Films
Radio Télévision Belge Francofone
Eurimages
Pictanovo
Distributed byWild Bunch (France)
Cinéart (Belgium)
Vértigo Films (Spain)
Release dates
  • 23 May 2013 (2013-05-23) (Cannes)
  • 9 October 2013 (2013-10-09) (France, Belgium)
  • 25 October 2013 (2013-10-25) (Spain)
Running time
180 minutes[1]
CountriesFrance
Belgium
Spain[2][3]
LanguageFrench
Budget€4 million[4]
Box office$19.5 million[5]

Blue Is the Warmest Colour (French: La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2, lit. 'The Life of Adèle: Chapters 1 & 2'; French pronunciation: [la vi dadɛl ʃapitʁ œ̃ e dø]) is a 2013 romantic drama film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. The film follows Adèle (Exarchopoulos), a French teenager, who discovers desire and freedom when Emma (Seydoux), an aspiring painter, enters her life. It depicts their lesbian sexual relationship from Adèle's high school years to her early adult life and career as a schoolteacher. The film's premise is based on the 2010 graphic novel of the same name by Jul Maroh.[6]

Production began in March 2012 and lasted five months. Approximately 800 hours of footage were shot, including extensive B-roll footage, with Kechiche trimming the final cut to 180 minutes.[7] The film generated controversy,[8] much of it about allegations by the crew and lead actresses of poor working conditions on set and the film's raw depiction of sexuality.[9][10][11]

At the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, the film unanimously won the Palme d'Or from the official jury and the FIPRESCI Prize. It is the first film to have the Palme d'Or awarded to both the director and the lead actresses, with Seydoux and Exarchopoulos joining Jane Campion (The Piano), Julia Ducournau (Titane), and Justine Triet (Anatomy of a Fall) as the only women to have won the award.[12][13] It received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language.[14] Many critics declared it one of the best films of 2013.[15][16][17]

  1. ^ "Blue Is the Warmest Colour (18)". Artificial Eye. British Board of Film Classification. 11 September 2013. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  2. ^ "La vie d'Adèle". LUMIERE. European Audiovisual Observatory. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Fabre, Clarisse (24 May 2013). "Des techniciens racontent le tournage difficile de "La Vie d'Adèle"". Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 30 May 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  6. ^ (in French) Jul Maroh, Le bleu est une couleur chaude, Glénat – Hors collection, 2010, ISBN 978-2-7234-6783-4
  7. ^ "Cannes-Winning Stars of 'Blue is the Warmest Color' Talk Controversy, Kechiche: "It's a Blind Trust"". IndieWire. 23 October 2013. Archived from the original on 28 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Timeline: A brief history of the drama surrounding Blue is the Warmest Color". Vulture. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  9. ^ "This is not lesbian pornography: Blue is the Warmest Color, defended". deadspin.com. 22 October 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  10. ^ Greenhouse, Emily (24 October 2013). "Did a director push too far?". The New Yorker. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  11. ^ Fallon, Kevin (24 October 2013). "The Blue is the Warmest Colour feud and more actresses who were tortured by directors". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 27 December 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  12. ^ "Cannes Film Festival: Awards 2013". Cannes. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  13. ^ "Blue is the warmest colour team win Palme d'Or at Cannes 2013". Radio France Internationale. 26 May 2013. Archived from the original on 8 June 2013. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Golden Globes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Film Critic Top 10 Lists: Best Movies of 2013". Metacritic. 8 December 2013. Archived from the original on 7 September 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  16. ^ Maher, Kate Muir (24 December 2013). "The top 30 films of 2013". The Times. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  17. ^ "Top 10 films of 2013: From Blue is the Warmest Colour". 24 December 2013. Archived from the original on 22 January 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2014.