Summary
Bafta-nominated romantic drama starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. French teenager Adèle forms an intense connection with an aspiring painter called Emma, and the pair embark on a passionate relationship.
Bafta-nominated romantic drama starring Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. French teenager Adèle forms an intense connection with an aspiring painter called Emma, and the pair embark on a passionate relationship.
This tastefully told coming-of-age tale, with its simulated but nevertheless convincingly explicit lesbian sex scenes, was the talk of the 2013 Cannes film festival, though it's perhaps too slight and too long to create much of a stir with multiplex audiences. For anyone intrigued by the film's salacious reputation, the steamy moments barely make up 15 minutes of the three-hour running time, which dwells mostly on teenage heroine Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos), who makes a botched attempt at a relationship with a male schoolfriend before falling for the blue-haired and openly gay Emma (Léa Seydoux) after spotting her in the street. The small-town setting of Lille is important, since this allows Adèle to trace Emma to a local bar, and the pair begin a full-on but ill-fated affair. The intensity is clear from the more intimate moments, but this very adult and measured film is also concerned with the minutiae of Adèle's life, notably in the infant school where she teaches. The two leads, not to mention Abdel Kechiche's direction, are excellent; justifying the first-ever time the Palme d'Or was awarded jointly to both director and actors. As for the story, many will wonder what the fuss was about.
role | name |
---|---|
Emma | Léa Seydoux |
Adèle | Adèle Exarchopoulos |
Samir | Salim Kechiouche |
Adéle's father | Aurélien Recoing |
Adéle's mother | Catherine Salée |
Antoine | Benjamin Siksou |
Lise | Mona Walravens |
Béatrice | Alma Jodorowsky |
role | name |
---|---|
Director | Abdel Kechiche |