Blue Is The Warmest Color (2013)

Poster courtesy of BLT Communications, LLC.

I saw this movie what seems like ages ago, but I absolutely cannot get away with not writing about it. Blue Is The Warmest Color (La vie d'Adele) is an epic romance adapted from the critically acclaimed graphic novel of the same name by Julia Maroh. The film was created in two chapters and directed and written by Abdellatif Kechiche. The main stars are Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos. There is much controversy surrounding this film, which I believe might make for interesting conversation, but first I would like to discuss the plot.

Blue Is The Warmest Color is a romantic coming of age tale that focuses on a young high school girl, Adele, who slowly comes to terms with her sexuality through the help of a confident, older lesbian Emma. As Adele becomes more confident in her sexuality, she begins lacking confidence in her relationship, leading to jealousy and suspicion, eventually to a heart-wrenching climax and conclusion.

With no hesitation, I say that this film is my favorite from 2013. I tend to prefer movies that focus more on character development in comparison to films that seem overly saturated with plot. As such, Blue Is the Warmest Color is certainly a character study, with characters that I so deeply related to that I went to bed crying after viewing the film. I am so intensely passionate about this film that I even have a poster hanging in my room, expectant of the blu-ray to arrive in the mail any day, and own the English language version of the graphic novel. I don't want to give away any spoilers, although I wouldn't say there are many spoilers to give. As I said before, this film is not reliant on plot so much as it is reliant on characters. That being said, nothing truly happens in the movie so much as characters happen.And that is why I was drawn to this film; to me, the important facets of life are people and their lives.

The film premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, unanimously clinching the prestigious and sought after Palme D'or award for Best Film. It was during it's premiere at the festival that multiple controversies surrounding the production came to surface. Director Kechiche was accused of harboring a harsh working environment, tampering with overtime pay, and avoidance of labor law requirements, which caused multiple crew members to quit while on set. In September of 2013, only 4 months after the premiere of the film, lead actresses Seydoux and Exarchopoulos went public with what they called a "horrible" experience on set with Kechiche. Kechiche's response to the negativity about production was that the film shouldn't be released at all, saying "I think this film should not go out; it was too sullied." The resistance Kechiche showed to releasing the film affected its distribution as a whole, resulting in the films inability to qualify for the 2014 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

The controversies aside, Blue Is The Warmest Color is a masterpiece of a film. A recent re-watch only cemented my opinion that this movie will stand as an example for years to come. The naturalism of the acting, which was achieved by Kechiche through countless retaking of shots, marks an important departure from formalism, which is a new trend in the recent years. Kechiche, regardless of the negative press he has received, inspired me and invoked my passion for film once again. His techniques, such as only allowing the actors to read the script only once, and then demanding improvisation for each scene, creates an environment of real life where the actors are given free creative reign, allowing them to emerse themselves entirely in the experience of the film. And that's what it is all about, isn't it? Naturalism, realism, being true to the character, but evoking past experiences as source material.

I loved Blue Is The Warmest Color. I recommend this film to anyone and everyone. A++.

Sources:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/blue-is-warmest-color-shouldnt-635532?

Gravity (2013)

Poster design by The Refinery

Gravity is a film directed by Alfonso Cuarón, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. Sandra Bullock plays Mission Specialist Ryan Stone and George Clooney plays veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski. The film is about a space mission, in which Stone and Kowalski are sent to the Hubble Space Station in order to service it. While Bullock is working on the station, they are informed by their Mission Control that a Russian mishap involving a missile strike on an obsolete space station caused a cloud of debris that is orbiting around the earth at their altitude. This event changes the entire course of the film, without giving away any spoilers.

I think it is important to note some interesting facts about this movie. It must be first stated that 80% of this film was CGed, which is comparative to James Cameron's 60% in Avatar. Gravity was awarded 7 Academy Awards at the 2014 ceremony, one specifically being awarded to its achievement in visual effects. Due to the heavy reliance on computer generated visuals, Sandra Bullock was often strapped into a rig for 10 hours at a time, a rig that was used to simulate her actions in space. This aspect of generated visuals only further insists that Cuarón was extremely dedicated to the idea of realism when depicting space travel.

There are some inaccuracies to be noted, however, inaccuracies that I would argue do not detract from the film as a whole. Some of these inaccuracies are as follows:

• Stone is never shown wearing ventilation garments

• Kowalski would only have had to have been tugged back in by Stone, instead of unclipping himself from Stone

• Stone's tears wouldn't have floated off of her face, but instead stuck due to surface tension

These are only a handful of the few inaccuracies that were noted about the film, those being noted by Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and astronomer Phil Plait.

I enjoyed this film immensely. I was initially hesitant due to my (questionably shallow) dislike of Sandra Bullock, but was pleasantly surprised with her performance, and the general master-fulness at which the film was shot. Overall, Cuaron created a masterful, realistic rendering of space travel, all the while grounding the film with worldly issues. As Gravity is a movie about rebirth, both Stone and Kowalski are faced with colossal danger in which they need to survive or overcome in order to overcome the chains and shackles of their past.

 As Stone is the main Character of this tale, her journey of rebirth is perhaps the most dominant storyline within the movie. The trials she is faced with directly correlate with the earthly problems that haunt her past. As she conquers each problem, she is one step closer to closure. As the film is a mere 91 minutes long, the audience is left begging the question whether or not Stone's ordeal in outer space is enough to help her through the reality that awaits her on earth. Without giving away any spoilers, I believe there are certain moments in a person's life that are so traumatic and life altering that the things they might have faced in the past are ultimately altered in their present mindset.

Photo thanks to IndieWire

 The photo above demonstrates a pivotal scene. Bullock here is depicted as a small child within the womb of a mother. What could be more symbolic of rebirth than Stone curled like a baby in a womb?

I give this film an A rating and suggest it to anyone who might be interested in themes of rebirth and identity, or even those who might be curious about outer space.

EDIT: I recently received a comment where a reader showed interest in the reaction to the 3D version. As I haven't seen the 3D version, I did some quick research to find out all I could about the films release in 3D. 

All that I found showed that Gravity was always intended to be shot in 3D and IMAX and that the reception was almost entirely positive, aside from a few outliers. Gravity is currently the third film worldwide in terms of revenue grossed from IMAX 3D showings, third only to The Dark Knight Rises and Avatar. It was released in 330 IMAX 3D theaters in North America alone. Gravity has been lauded as a film made specifically for the IMAX experience, with "the crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio creat[ing] a unique environment that make audiences feel as if they are in the move." Basically, Gravity's images and audio effects work in perfect sync with the IMAX technology. With the money grossed in IMAX showings alone, it can be seen that audiences went specifically for what the film was made for, the IMAX 3D experience.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2014/02/07/gravity-passes-100m-worldwide-in-imax/