When this movie hit the indie/arthouse circuit in 2013, it made headlines for its graphic sex scenes, epic running length and its success at Cannes. The film stars Adele Exarchopoulos and follows her character's coming of age from high school to her life as an elementary school teacher, focusing on her first love and first real relationship, with an older and more experienced art student (Lea Seydoux).
There were some troubling stories at the time about how rough the director was with his actresses and I read some interesting pieces about how prevalent the male gaze is in this movie even though its intention is to be about a relationship between two women. So, parts of it are problematic.
Still, a lot of it is great, specifically the lead performances. Lea Seydoux seems to get most of the attention, but I thought Adele Exarchopoulos was particularly great, doing so much with just the expressions on her face. Aside from a few of the sex scenes, the movie is very naturalistic and works as an intimate slice of life, with the camera lingering on facial closeups, not shying away from little things like the way people eat, or the way they look without makeup. All of that works together to show just how real and immediate (and messy) adolescence and young adulthood is, especially when it comes to relationships.
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