Who Came Before Gaspar Noé? Ten Auteur-Porn Milestones of the 21st Century
Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013)
In this skeezy, overlong coming-of-age film, which Spielberg’s Cannes jury awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or, writer-director Abdellatif Kechiche often lingers in close-up on his cherub-cheeked protagonist (Adèle Exarchopoulos) idly reclining in bed or else slurping down various foods. But it was the several-minute-long centerpiece, a sex scene between Exarchopoulos and first love Léa Seydoux for which prosthetics were used, that caused controversy—especially after the actresses publicly complained about conditions on-set. Those not suitably aroused by the sex might also find themselves objecting to the scene on more mundane grounds: Why does the bedroom window, which is right next to grasping bodies and opens up onto an enclosed courtyard that’s presumably very echoey, remain fully open the whole time? Why are so many candles burning when all the lights in the room appear to be on?