It seems that it came as no surprise to those attending this year’s Cannes Film Festival that Blue is the Warmest Color won the coveted Palme d’Or this year.
Blue is the Warmest Colour
The Cannes judging panel, led by director Steven Spielberg, had an excellent selection of movies to judge at the recent festival. In the end it was the three hour long same-sex love story that won the coveted award. Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos, the film is based on a French graphic novel centering on two young women (one of which has blue hair) who fall in love.
Whilst some might consider the subject matter controversial what really raised eyebrows (even at Cannes) were the explicit sex scenes – one of which lasts a full ten minutes. Spielberg defended the Jury’s selection of the film stating that:
“For me the film is a great love story that made all of feel like we were privileged to be flies on the wall, to be invited into this story of deep love and deep heartbreak. The director did not put any constraints on the narrative and we were absolutely spellbound by the amazing performances of the two actresses, and especially the way the director observed his characters and just let the characters breathe”.
Catherine Shoard, writing for The Guardian, observed that the film’s win at Cannes is fitting seeing as gay marriage was only very recently legalized in France. While not every Frenchman has embraced the law, it would certainly seem that the film touches on a subject that is touchy for many, with Spielberg stating that the Jury was just happy that someone had the courage to tell the story. In an unusual move the panel chose to honour both the director and lead actresses when announcing the award.
The Winners
The Coen brothers, Ethan and Joel, won the Grand Prix (the runner-up) for their Inside Llewyn Davis. Set in the 1960s the film takes place in the folk music scene of New York’s Greenwich Village and stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake.
Third prize went to Japan’s Kore-Eda Hirokazu for Soshite Chichi Ni Naru (Like Father, Like Son). The film tells the story of a family who find out their six year old son isn’t theirs and was actually switched at birth.
The Camera d’Or (for best debut film) went to Ilo Ilo by Anthony Chen for his depiction of the relationship between a Singapore family and their new Filipino maid. The film is the first Singaporean feature to win at the Cannes Film Festival.
Berenice Bejo won the award for Best Actress for her role as Marie in the French film Le Passe (The Past), while
Bruce Dern walked away with the Best Actor award for his role in Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne.
Other winners include Jia Shangke’s Touch of Sin which won Best Screenplay, Heli garnered director Amat Escalante the nod as Best Director and the Best Short Film went to Safe, by South Korean Moon Byoung-Gon.
Pippa Green is a London-based blogger with a passion for cinema and television. Now if only she could afford a dstv installation in her home!