The thrilled threesome were pictured on the red carpet kissing and hugging. So overwhelmed were the members of the Cannes jury that they decided to give the Palme D'Or not only to the director, but, in an unprecedented move, to the two actresses, Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarchopoulos, as well. It traces their affair from flirtation through a bitter break-up and its melancholy aftermath with such force of feeling that you seem to be living their lives yourself.
The film, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, a French director of Tunisian origin widely regarded as one of French cinema's small handful of masters, is the story of a great passion between two teenage girls. ''On one side are obsessive perfectionists, on the other self-involved exhibitionists, or so the theory goes.'' Is this true of the Blue winning team? Almost certainly, but with the added spice of Frenchness.īlue is the Warmest Colour is quite extraordinary. ''Directors and actors being what they are, they like a good argument,'' wrote a commentator in a piece comparing the saga with other screen clashes.
The swirl of hostility, accusations and counter-accusations, retribution and jeering from the wings that has enveloped Blue is the Warmest Colour, the French erotic epic that was the toast of last year's Cannes Film Festival, makes most of Hollywood's catfights look pale by comparison.