Blue Is the Warmest Color

I am sad to report that I was underwhelmed and uncomfortable, and all too familiar with the tropes at play, none of them creatively handled.

Exarchopoulos and Seydoux are constantly undercut by Kechiche's direction, which often seems more about his directorial desires than the motivations of the story's protagonists.

The most discomfiting thing about Blue [Is The Warmest Color] is that it ultimately feels like a menage a trois involving the actors and the camera, staged for the benefit of the director.

The central romance is told beautifully, and the two leads give dazzling performances.

Scene after scene brings truthfulness and insight into the at times difficult relationship.

To think of it simply as visual pleasure is only looking skin deep.

The story itself is captivating but also heartbreaking and emotional. It’s one that everyone can relate with, despite sexual preference.

Blue is the Warmest Colour was the first time many queer women were able to see two women in a romantic relationship in popular media. It’s a shame those characters weren’t treated with respect.

Abdellatif Kechiche takes all the time in the world to narrate the emergence and possible sentimental catastrophe of this young couple... [Full review in Spanish]

Blue‘s a well-acted plot outline lacking sexual or psychological specificity, exactly the details needed to make the well-trod beats of a relationship drama work.