Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013)
89%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
86 wins & 104 nominations total
Raw, honest, powerfully acted, and deliciously intense, Blue Is the Warmest Color offers some of modern cinema’s most elegantly composed, emotionally absorbing drama.
Blue is the Warmest Color is like a rollercoaster ride of emotions, with moments that will make you laugh, cry, and feel all the feels. The chemistry between the two leads is electric, and their performances are nothing short of amazing. Sure, there are some uncomfortable moments, but that’s just a testament to how real and raw this film is. Plus, Adèle Exarchopoulos has the most expressive face ever – seriously, the camera just can’t get enough of her. Overall, this movie is a must-watch for anyone who’s ever been in love (or just wants to feel all the feels).
Production Company(ies)
Producers Sales Organization R S L Entertainment, Moviecorp V III
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
La Piscine Museum, Roubaix, France
MPAA / Certificate
Rated NC-17 for explicit sexual content
Year of Release
2013
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:2h 55m
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Language(s):French, English
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Country of origin:Belgium, France, Spain, Tunisia
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 25, 2013 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 25, 2014
Genre(s)
Drama/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux, Salim Kechiouche, Mona Walravens, Jérémie Laheurte, Alma Jodorowski, directed by Abdel Kechiche, written by Abdel Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix, produced by Olivier Thery-Lapiney, Laurence Clerc, drama, romance, LGBTQ+, NC-17 rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kate, Tammy Oler, J Hoberman, Chris Stuckmann, David Stratton, Radheyan Simonpillai, Michelle Faye, Diane Carson, James Croot, Yasmin Omar, starring Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux, Salim Kechiouche, Mona Walravens, Jérémie Laheurte, Alma Jodorowski, directed by Abdel Kechiche, written by Abdel Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix, produced by Olivier Thery-Lapiney, Laurence Clerc, drama, romance, LGBTQ+, NC-17 rating, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Kate, Tammy Oler, J Hoberman, Chris Stuckmann, David Stratton, Radheyan Simonpillai, Michelle Faye, Diane Carson, James Croot, Yasmin Omar, Abdel Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix, Olivier Thery-Lapiney, Laurence Clerc, French, explicit sexual content, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Léa Seydoux, lesbian bar, emotional connection, sexual connection, deep, powerfully acted, intense, elegantly composed, emotionally absorbing, raw, honest
Worldwide gross: $19,465,835
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $24,728,385
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,629
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,696,661
US/Canada gross: $2,199,787
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,794,495
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,955
US/Canada opening weekend: $100,316
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $127,436
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,844
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 4000000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $5,081,392
Production budget ranking: 1,873
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,736,330
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $16,910,663
ROI to date (est.): 216%
ROI ranking: 603
Adèle Exarchopoulos – Adèle
Salim Kechiouche – Samir
Mona Walravens – Lise
Jérémie Laheurte – Thomas
Alma Jodorowski – Béatrice
Director(s)
Abdel Kechiche
Writer(s)
Abdel Kechiche, Ghalya Lacroix, Abdel Kechiche
Producer(s)
Olivier Thery-Lapiney, Laurence Clerc
Film Festivals
Sundance, Cannes, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
86 wins & 104 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (204) | Top Critics (63) | Fresh (181) | Rotten (23)
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.
June 14, 2021
Kate
Autostraddle
TOP CRITIC
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.
January 20, 2021
Tammy Oler
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
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.
February 22, 2019
J. Hoberman
ARTINFO.com
TOP CRITIC
The central romance is told beautifully, and the two leads give dazzling performances.
April 17, 2015 | Rating: A
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
Scene after scene brings truthfulness and insight into the at times difficult relationship.
February 18, 2014 | Rating: 4.5/5
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
To think of it simply as visual pleasure is only looking skin deep.
December 19, 2013
Radheyan Simonpillai
AskMen.com
TOP CRITIC
Make sure you have tissues with you (lots of them!) because the performance of these young girls is nothing short of revelatory.
May 24, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Michelle Faye
Curve
Their selfless, all-in commitment defines and intensifies every exchange.
March 5, 2022
Diane Carson
KDHX (St. Louis)
An insular and intimate epic.
January 7, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
Adèle Exarchopoulos, with her big open awkward face – the camera just lives right there on top of that face for ages and ages; sobbing and huffing and puffing, flirting and snarling and smacking her lips
July 2, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants
Blue is the Warmest Colour is a teenager’s deeply personal odyssey of self-discovery as she traverses the boundary of girlhood to enter womanhood.
June 25, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Yasmin Omar
Harper’s Bazaar
No filmmaker I can think of used sex this way though in portraying first love. It’s something everyone goes through and it hits home hard. Therefore Adèle’s joy and heartbreak has much more resonance.
February 24, 2021
Dustin Chang
Floating World…
Plot
Adèle is a high school student who is beginning to explore herself as a woman. She dates men but finds no satisfaction with them sexually, and is rejected by a female friend who she does desire. She dreams of something more. She meets Emma who is a free spirited girl whom Adèle’s friends reject due to her sexuality, and by association most begin to reject Adèle. Her relationship with Emma grows into more than just friends as she is the only person with whom she can express herself openly. Together, Adèle and Emma explore social acceptance, sexuality, and the emotional spectrum of their maturing relationship.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Adèle Exarchopoulos’s performance in Blue Is the Warmest Color is described as “raw, honest, powerfully acted, and deliciously intense.”
Abdel-Kechiche.jpg
