In Praise of Adèle.
Jiayuguan, Gansu Province, China, December 22nd, 2013.
Salaroche

Living in China has a few disadvantages, especially when it comes to finding basic things related to western culture, like the absence of dental floss in most stores and pharmacies (although you can always find it), or the omnipresent absence of shaving cream almost anywhere. But the absence of enforced copyrights laws can be some sort of boon for some of us who like to watch good movies, as we can often download the very latest ones onto our computers for free.

A couple of days ago I was pleased to finally be able to download “La vie d’Adèle” (Blue is the Warmest Color), winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes 2013. Later I was further pleased to find out the film hadn’t been mutilated at all. It had been uploaded in its entirety, uncensored.

There’s no need to be a film critic to find yourself at the end of the film with a deep sense of having shared someone else’s life. I was left with a deep impression of having witnessed someone else’s deep secrets and emotions. No doubt Adèle Exarchopoulos performance was perfectly outstanding. I don’t think I saw any single scene in the near-three-hour movie where Adèle appeared self-conscious or where she didn’t seem totally oblivious of the camera. And she was onscreen like 95% of the time.

Her awakenings from innocence, her reaction to the first kiss given to her by a female classmate, her disappointing sexual encounter with her first boyfriend, and her first encounter with Emma, her soon-to-be first female lover, all of it is perfectly pictured in Adèle’s facial expressions. And those lips, those ever-present sensual lips. I don’t think the film’s cinematography would have had the same impact on the audience had Adèle not had those lips.

Then there’s Emma, played masterfully by Léa Seydoux. I had seen Léa on the big screen before, in Tom Cruise’s “Ghost Protocol”, but she didn’t shine there even half as bright as she did in “Adèle”. She played the perfect counterpart for Adèle.
Adèle is very young and inexperienced, while Emma is older and quite knowledgeable about life. Emma is an artist and an intellectual, while Adèle’s only quest is to become a kindergarten teacher. Emma has her own artistic and gender-related battles to fight; Adèle seems oblivious to any of that, except for her wish to stay in the closet.

It is fair to say that in the end Adèle’s character wouldn’t have been as clearly understandable had there not been Emma’s character to contrast with it. No doubt both these ladies gave a unique and outstanding performance. And they’re both awfully beautiful as well.

Having watched “La Vie d’Adèle” in its entirety I understand why Steven Spielberg and the rest of the panel at Cannes 2013 first gave La Palme d’Or to Abdellatif Kechiche for best film and then both to Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux for best actresses.

Some things cannot be very accurately described with words; we have to experience them through our senses in order to fully appreciate them. “La Vie d’Adèle” is a perfect case in point.

Salaroche