Almost every news outlet this morning is running with the headline “Lesbian drama wins top prize at Cannes”, yet what we are excited about is the fact that it was based on a comic book. Julie Maroh’s Le Bleu est Une Couleur Chaude was the basis for Abdellatif Kechiche‘s Blue is the Warmest Colour.
Purportedly filled with explicit sex scenes between the lead characters, it is about a young woman named Clementine who begins to awaken when she meets a confident blue-haired girl named Emma. In the film, Clementine is rechristened Adèle (and portrayed by Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Emma is played by Léa Seydoux.
The original graphic novel won the Audience Prize at the Angoulême International Comics Festival, Europe’s largest comic book convention. It is due for an English-language release in October from Arsenal Pulp Press, under the title of Blue Angel. However, it is entirely possible the success of the film will help it retain its original title.
Comic book films have become big business over the last few years, with Iron Man 3 having recently joined companion The Avengers in the $1 billion box office club. Yet the victory of Blue is the Warmest Colour may give comic book adaptations some legitimacy, much like Persepolis before it.
The film is also due for release in October in France. It does not currently have an Australian release date.
