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I have never seen a film about a face until Blue. Almost every emotion the face can show is expressed by the leading actress: longing, satisfaction, shame, allure, hunger, anger, grief, boredom, suspicion. I was worried after the opening scenes that the film was one of stark realism despite its whimsical title. However, after a short time, it took on its poetical style, and in the street, just before Adele sees Emma, we hear the first sound of music. From then on the film is an exercise in cinematic eloquence.
In one particular scene, Adele wanders into a lesbian club still under the impression of the blue-haired woman she had seen days or weeks before. The club is small and packed and she can't seem to find her bearings. Adele makes it to the back of the club which resembles a dark abyss. She has the look of someone at once desperately searching and giving up the search. Then, behind her, the top of Emma's head appears from somewhere out of the shadows as a looming orb of dark blue. You don't see where Emma comes from; you don't see her face or body, just a color. When Emma sits down at the bar with Adele their first exchange is instantly dynamic and absorbing. If you compare this conversation with the talk Adele engages in with her classmates at the beginning , it's easy to admit that Adele is far more mature, thoughtful, and intellectually eager than her peers.
To appreciate the subtleties of this scene we have to recall one of the first moments in the film when Adele's teacher asked her class if love at first sight feels like the gaining of something or the losing of something. Is it possible that the director is also trying to answer this question?
The sex scenes will doubtlessly make some uncomfortable; such authenticity is something rarely seen on screen, but they are neither gratuitous nor pornographic. There's nothing more gratuitous than the old lie that's been told throughout cinematic history of woman as a passive sexual being, and the women in this film are anything but passive.
Contrary to other reviews, no single sex scene in Blue is 10 minutes long. There are three sex scenes and together they add up to 10 minutes, but the scene everyone is talking about is at most five minutes, unless the film they showed at Cannes if different from the one making the film festival circuit.
In one particular scene, Adele wanders into a lesbian club still under the impression of the blue-haired woman she had seen days or weeks before. The club is small and packed and she can't seem to find her bearings. Adele makes it to the back of the club which resembles a dark abyss. She has the look of someone at once desperately searching and giving up the search. Then, behind her, the top of Emma's head appears from somewhere out of the shadows as a looming orb of dark blue. You don't see where Emma comes from; you don't see her face or body, just a color. When Emma sits down at the bar with Adele their first exchange is instantly dynamic and absorbing. If you compare this conversation with the talk Adele engages in with her classmates at the beginning , it's easy to admit that Adele is far more mature, thoughtful, and intellectually eager than her peers.
To appreciate the subtleties of this scene we have to recall one of the first moments in the film when Adele's teacher asked her class if love at first sight feels like the gaining of something or the losing of something. Is it possible that the director is also trying to answer this question?
The sex scenes will doubtlessly make some uncomfortable; such authenticity is something rarely seen on screen, but they are neither gratuitous nor pornographic. There's nothing more gratuitous than the old lie that's been told throughout cinematic history of woman as a passive sexual being, and the women in this film are anything but passive.
Contrary to other reviews, no single sex scene in Blue is 10 minutes long. There are three sex scenes and together they add up to 10 minutes, but the scene everyone is talking about is at most five minutes, unless the film they showed at Cannes if different from the one making the film festival circuit.
10/10
