Analysis of Cinematography in “Blue Is the Warmest Color” Film

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Analysis of Cinematography in “Blue Is the Warmest Color” Film

Cinematography in filmmaking entails combining different film techniques in analyzing the film. Cinematography elements include; the camera shots, angles, movement of the camera and lighting. In this film, the director uses cinematography in an exceptional way. This paper will focus in identifying various scenes that illustrate cinematography. The first section will give the overview of the movie. The second section will analyze cinematography techniques that the director uses in presenting this film (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

1. Overview of the movie

“Blue Is the Warmest Color” or in original French language “La Vie d’Alene” is nontrivial masterpiece of the XXI century. The movie has got a number of international awards including famous and prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. From the first look, it seems that the work of Abdellatif Kechiche has nothing new to expose and the story has nothing to tell. But only from the first look. Once a person dives into the story deeper, it is impossible to stay away from watching it. The movie has all necessary features and points to get viewers’ attention: wonderful actors, thrilling and up-to-date story that awakens social issue and good work of director and operator. When watching this movie the viewer feels like he is there, with Adele eating pasta at her family dinner or overcomes stress with her by eating chocolates. It is so true to life, and director does not try to hide life routine and flash of pure and deep love that knows no limits (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Still having all the features of the mainstream movie, this one can not be called like this. It reveals important problems of the right on equality and freedom of love. Conservative people avoid watching such movies. Though modern society is far from being called conservative, some people are just not ready for such a movie-disclosure. From the minuses of the work the total length, which is three hours and availability of too many erotic episodes, are considered to be the main ones. But who knows, maybe Abdellatif Kechiche is just way ahead of the present time, and we are just not ready for it. Since the movie got so many awards, it is hard to escape from watching it. The films may leave a pit sad after-taste, but one is to enjoy every minute of it. It is fresh, thought provoking, tempting and exquisite. It is worth watching (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Cinematography Analysis

Camera shots

The camera shots follow Adele as the film opens, through her life in high school, her adult life, her sexual life and when she meets her first love. The camera is continuous and captures every aspect of close-ups that reveal everything while stilling allowing an aspect of detachment from the film. Adele face is stunning and very emotional, an aspect that allows the director to convey the message as it ought to be. For instance, in the early scenes, Adele is very intimate with her boyfriend and ends up playing sex with her. Her look in this scene is very different compared to the scene when she is with Emma. Kechiche intends to convey a meaningful message. In another scene when Adele is breaking up with Emma, it is excruciating to watch the scene as Emma sobs (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

The camera captures Adele’s eyes revealing her fear and nervousness. After breaking up, Kechiche shows Adele as she soldiers on with her everyday activities, more so, that she has taken a teaching job. Even though Adele seems emotionally sober as she engages with the young children in schools, from a distant she appears unease and lonely. Even while walking down the street, her body language reveals that she is suffering from a guilt consciousness and sadness. The director continuous follows-up Adele’s life to contrast her inner feelings with the outer physical appearance. He does this by taking the audience back to the park where the two characters, that is, Adele and Emma kissed for the first time. Kechiche captures the two characters as the sun rays penetrate through the leaves. Later, Adele returns to the same place and sits on the same bench and the same tree (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

The first chapter covers Adele’s life and illustrates the strength and affinity of the first real love without any downsides. It is apparent that Adele and Emma emanates from diverse backgrounds as illustrated by two amazing dinner episodes with these two lovers together with their families. In spite of their varying backgrounds, the lovers believe their love and lust are everlasting. The second chapter presents a rather relaxed affair. After breaking up with Emma, Adele pursues a course in teaching; while Emma’s blue hair regains its natural color. In essence, it appears as though everything has taken a different course.

Adele is no longer capable of melding with Emma’s colleagues and ways of life and has no one to turn to. All her friends departed from her after learning about her lesbianism behavior. Furthermore, one feels pretty unease watching the second chapter. Adele is still struggling to accept the reality that she ought to take care of herself having dependent largely on Emma for emotional support and love issues. In other words, the second chapter, which revolves around the sex episodes, seems to bring into light the heartbreaking aspects surrounding Adele. As well, the second chapter presents a wide shot of Adele in the art gallery caught in-between her past with her lover Emma and Emma future life (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Close-up shots

Kechiche uses close-up shots to attract the attention and nearer the audience focus to the actors and express the emotions by faces. The film is mostly featured by emotions, and the only way to express them is through the face. Use of facial looks and body language is what contributes to the success of the film. Light produces a natural feeling. Indeed, based on Adele’s story and the way Kechiche films it, windows, doors are the main sources of light. In the first chapter, the director uses back lighting. Kechiche places the major source of light at the back of the character, yet no shadows are cast because of the lights at the front end. The use of blue color in the film is very interesting in terms of cinematography. Often, blue color depicts coldness, implying that the characters love life was characterized by many pitfalls than benefits. Kechiche used the blue color because he wanted to expound on the theme. In deed, blue depicts freedom and a successful future. In her tender age in high school, Adele is seeking for a solace, where she can express her feelings without interruptions. Her encounter with Emma seems to quench her thirst. Emma’s blue hair represents freedom for Adele (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

In other words, she holds the future for Adele. This is very evident in the gay pub, whereby, Emma’s blue hair pops in the dark. It is also the same time Adèle and Emma make love on the blue linen bed. Furthermore, it is interesting to see the relationship that exists between the blue color and love between the two characters. As the two lover’s breakup, the blue color as well starts fading. For example, when reservations and uncertainties crop up, Emma blonde hairs start fading out and become drab. This also happens in terms of geographical aspects. As the film unfolds, the audience can see New York camouflaged in blue color, which gives the impression that its cast is blue. When the Adèle and Emma meet as the film nears the end, the camera captures some pictures showing New York in black and white. This is the location the two lovers met. As well, in the final episode, Adèle is wearing a blue dress, perhaps in her attempt to win over Emma. Her dress is the only item that contrasts with the gray and desaturated environment (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Blue is the Warmest Color film also becomes famous based on its acknowledgment by the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Often, the award is for the directors; however, Kechiche received the award together with her actresses because of their extraordinary performance. This is the reason the camera captures Adele throughout the film since she unleashes a strong and unwavering performance that is captivating to the audience. The close-up that continually fills the screen works in favor of Adele to show her singular face, round cheeks and flabby lips naturally parted leaving a space that shows her front teeth, which functions to illustrate her youthfulness.

 

 

Camera movement

Kechiche’s camera movement captures everything happening around Adele, for instance, it captures every drop of tear, every moment of obsession, every food particle that drops down as Adele eats and so forth. Adele is insatiable in all aspects, from the way she feeds to how she performs at school, how she kisses and makes love. The way the director places her as a naïve young woman brings out the aspect of passion that springs out from underneath. However, her uncontrolled love betrays her, which further complicates her stay in an environment that seems hostile. She has no friends. There are a lot of things happening in the film besides the symbolism of the color blue (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Blue is the Warmest Color by Kechiche is a film that embodies literal and metaphorical changes happening among the main characters – Adele and Emma. The director uses the visual cinematic language to create a film whose main characters falls in love. The Filmmaker uses mise-en-scène, cinematography, and editing in illustrating love with commendable significance. The film addresses the theme of love, whereby the Kechiche directs the actions that build into developing the lust between Adele and Emma as well as contributing to their pitfall. In emphasizing the effect of the action, the directors capture still shots. Cinematography used by the director is what makes the movie unique but also amusing. The director develops various scenes using a long continuous dolly shots that indicate the changes the characters are going through as the love grows stronger and stronger (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

Extreme long shot

The director as well manages to create deep shots where they never existed. For instance, the camera captures the image of the New York in the gay pub, where Adele and Emma first met. As well, the film uses filming techniques and editing in revealing the theme of love. For instance, the landscape chosen depicts a certain phenomenon. As well, the editing technique used integrates the film with cinematic transition that entails the long shots to the close up distances. Moreover, the director opens different scene using long shots before moving on a closer distance of the action. This cinematic style is evident when Adele and her boyfriend are seated on the school bench. In another scene, when Adele is crossing the road, she bumps into Emma, who she had fallen in love with in a dream. She turns around and looks at her with lust.

In this scene, the director uses a long shot and moves the camera showing facial looks and body language of Adele as she looks at Emma as a distant. The director shows the busy street, moving cars as Adele finds way through them. Film editing employs both the long shot and close distance shot to illustrate cinematic transition. The director uses editing technique in this scene to indicate the changes that the characters are experiencing. The director as well uses pictures and imagery. In terms of imagery, and as the title of the film depicts “Blue is the warmest color”, Blue symbolizes various aspects. For instance, naturally Blue depicts warmth, or rather acceptance and so forth. The color blue is widely used and essentially significant throughout the film. Pictures, on the hand, as well illustrated the aspect of the blue color. For example, New York is presented with a blue cast. The effect of the images used develops a perfect understanding of the film. The director also uses visual techniques of a silent film to show the intention and thoughts of the characters. For instance, the image presenting New York City seems superimposed by blue color (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)

The images and pictures used throughout the film help in creating life images in the audience’s minds. Camera tracking movement in this film revolves around the schools, the park, city traffic, and so forth in order to create unusual illusion of vastness and depth. Camera movement has been used in this film in a composition that makes it remain exceptional. It gives visual approach that develops cumulative effects and emotions to the audiences (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)

Conclusion

Cinematography in filmmaking entails combining different film techniques in analyzing the film. Cinematography elements include; the camera shots, angles, movement of the camera and lighting. In this film, the director uses cinematography in an exceptional way. This paper will focuses on identifying various scenes that illustrate cinematography. The first section gives the overview of the movie. The second section analyzes cinematography techniques that the director uses in presenting this film.

As illustrated “Blue Is the Warmest Color” or in original French language “La Vie d’Alene” is nontrivial masterpiece of the XXI century. The movie has all necessary features and points to get viewers’ attention: wonderful actors, thrilling and up-to-date story that awakens social issue and good work of director and operator. From a glance, it appears as though the work of Abdellatif Kechiche has nothing new to expose and the story has nothing to tell. But only from the first look (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf)

Once a person dives into the story deeper, it is impossible to stay away from watching it. The movie has all necessary features and points to get viewers’ attention: wonderful actors, thrilling and up-to-date story that awakens social issue and good work of director and operator. When watching this movie the viewer feels like he is there, with Adele eating pasta at her family dinner or overcomes stress with her by eating chocolates. It is so true and relatable to life, and the director does not try to hide life routine and flash of pure and deep love that knows no limits.

In addition, it is a film that embodies literal and metaphorical changes happening among the main characters –Adele and Emma. The director uses the visual cinematic language to create a film whose main characters falls in love. The Filmmaker uses mise-en-scène, cinematography, and editing in illustrating love with commendable significance. The film addresses the theme of love, whereby the Kechiche directs the actions that build into developing the lust between Adele and Emma as well as contributing to their pitfall (Blue Is the Warmest Color).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works cited

Blue Is the Warmest Color. Dir. Abdellatif Kechiche. Quat’ sous Films, 2013.DVD

Maroh, Julie, and Ivanka Hahnenberger. Blue Is the Warmest Color. Print.

Dial M for Murder. Dir. Alfred Hitchcock. Perf. Grace Kelly, Ray Milland and Robert      Cummings. 1954. Warner Home Video, 2004. DVD

Kechiche, Abdellatif., Léa Seydoux, and Adèle Exarchopoulos. La Vie D’Adèle, Chapitres 1 Et     2: Blue Is the Warmest Colour. London: Artificial Eye, 2014

Kaes, Anton. M. London: BFI, 2000.

Rabiger, Michael. Directing: Film Techniques and Aesthetics. 3nd ed. Boston: Focal Press,2003.

Mascelli, Joseph V. The Five C’s of Cinematography: Motion Picture Filming Techniques Simplified. Hollywood [Calif.: Cine/Grafic Publications, 1965. Print

Maroh, Julie, and Ivanka Hahnenberger. Blue Is the Warmest Color. English language edition.

Wexler, Haskell, cinematographer. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? . Dir. Mike Nichols. Perfs.    Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis. 1966. DVD. Warner            Home Video, 2006.

Brook, Vincent. “The Father of Film Noir: FritzLang.”Driven to Darkness: Jewish Émigré             Directors and the Rise of Film Noir. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 2009. 58-79.