While watching 'La Vie d'Adèle', I regularly thought about 'Entre les Murs', the winner of the Palme d'Or in Cannes five years ago. Not only because in both films many scenes take place in classrooms, but also because they both have an ultra-authentic feeling.
Many of the scenes in this film look so real that it's almost hard to believe they are acted at all. Take for instance one scene in the beginning of the film. Five schoolgirls are chatting about a boy who is standing a few meters away, and who is clearly interested in one of the girls. The conversation, and the way the girls behave is so natural, it's almost impossible to script this. And in fact, many scenes are hardly scripted. Much is improvisation, and the actors were encouraged to do whatever they felt like doing, whatever came natural to them. Director Kechiche apparently shot for several months and came up with 800 hours of footage.
The result is stunning. This is a movie that is not only reminiscent of 'Entre les Murs', but also of the films made by the Belgian brothers Dardenne. These are films showing the real lives of real people, without make-up, without scripted lines and without any cinematographic glamour. There are so many scenes that make you feel like you're peeping into other people's lives. Take for example the scene of Adèle eating spaghetti with her parents, while watching television. Hardly a word is said, but this little scene tells more about Adèle's life than fifty lines of dialogue.
The best thing about the movie, apart from the directing, is actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. Her performance is an extraordinary accomplishment. She shows every possible emotion: indifference, astonishment, grief, anger, joy, sadness, and yes, sexual excitement, without once giving the impression that the emotion is not real, that she is just acting. In Cannes, both she and Léa Seydoux were awarded the Palme d'Or, but is is Exarchopoulos who steals the show.
The film is a classic coming-of-age drama. Adèle is a high school girl who falls in love with art student Emma. They have a passionate relationship, but it is doomed because working class girl Adèle doesn't fit in with Emma's snobby friends. The two girls really don't have very much in common. Adèle gets a job as a nursery teacher and is passionate about her work, but this doesn't resonate with Emma who thinks she should develop a more creative passion, like writing. The best scene about the difference between the two girls (again without words) is when Adèle is washing the dishes after a party, while Emma is in bed reading a book about the painter Egon Schiele.
The fact that the lovers are both female is in fact irrelevant for the film. Their being lesbian is hardly an issue. Much has been said about how 'lesbian' the movie really is. The answer is: it is not. Some viewers have complained that the sex scenes are unrealistic and shown from a male perspective. This might be true, and it is completely understandable, given that this film is not meant as a statement about lesbianism. In fact, one of the sex scenes shows Adèle with a boy, and is filmed in much the same way. There is in fact a lot of very explicit sex in the film. This serves the story, but the length of the scenes and the way they are filmed suggest that director Kechiche secretly hoped for a bit of controversy.
The film is almost three hours long, but doesn't feel that way at all. Many scenes are long, but they are such a joy to watch you almost regret that they are not even longer. Many reviewers and watchers have said that, after watching the movie, they feel that they really have got to know Adèle and the way she feels. I can only agree.
Many of the scenes in this film look so real that it's almost hard to believe they are acted at all. Take for instance one scene in the beginning of the film. Five schoolgirls are chatting about a boy who is standing a few meters away, and who is clearly interested in one of the girls. The conversation, and the way the girls behave is so natural, it's almost impossible to script this. And in fact, many scenes are hardly scripted. Much is improvisation, and the actors were encouraged to do whatever they felt like doing, whatever came natural to them. Director Kechiche apparently shot for several months and came up with 800 hours of footage.
The result is stunning. This is a movie that is not only reminiscent of 'Entre les Murs', but also of the films made by the Belgian brothers Dardenne. These are films showing the real lives of real people, without make-up, without scripted lines and without any cinematographic glamour. There are so many scenes that make you feel like you're peeping into other people's lives. Take for example the scene of Adèle eating spaghetti with her parents, while watching television. Hardly a word is said, but this little scene tells more about Adèle's life than fifty lines of dialogue.
The best thing about the movie, apart from the directing, is actress Adèle Exarchopoulos. Her performance is an extraordinary accomplishment. She shows every possible emotion: indifference, astonishment, grief, anger, joy, sadness, and yes, sexual excitement, without once giving the impression that the emotion is not real, that she is just acting. In Cannes, both she and Léa Seydoux were awarded the Palme d'Or, but is is Exarchopoulos who steals the show.
The film is a classic coming-of-age drama. Adèle is a high school girl who falls in love with art student Emma. They have a passionate relationship, but it is doomed because working class girl Adèle doesn't fit in with Emma's snobby friends. The two girls really don't have very much in common. Adèle gets a job as a nursery teacher and is passionate about her work, but this doesn't resonate with Emma who thinks she should develop a more creative passion, like writing. The best scene about the difference between the two girls (again without words) is when Adèle is washing the dishes after a party, while Emma is in bed reading a book about the painter Egon Schiele.
The fact that the lovers are both female is in fact irrelevant for the film. Their being lesbian is hardly an issue. Much has been said about how 'lesbian' the movie really is. The answer is: it is not. Some viewers have complained that the sex scenes are unrealistic and shown from a male perspective. This might be true, and it is completely understandable, given that this film is not meant as a statement about lesbianism. In fact, one of the sex scenes shows Adèle with a boy, and is filmed in much the same way. There is in fact a lot of very explicit sex in the film. This serves the story, but the length of the scenes and the way they are filmed suggest that director Kechiche secretly hoped for a bit of controversy.
The film is almost three hours long, but doesn't feel that way at all. Many scenes are long, but they are such a joy to watch you almost regret that they are not even longer. Many reviewers and watchers have said that, after watching the movie, they feel that they really have got to know Adèle and the way she feels. I can only agree.