Aside from the sex scene which seemed kind of mechanically choreographed for show (and unnecessarily long), I think this movie hits the right emotional spots for every aspect of sexuality issues - it appeared to me as the most wholesome movie about the coming-of-age sexuality that was made in the past decade.
Adele & Lea, the main leads, should deserve the Oscar (if only it is possible for that category) for their acting performances that were very convincing during the ups and downs of the relationships. For Adele in particular, the movie demands a lot from her role. It explores the sexual identity confusion at the beginning, to the moment when true love appears, the joys and challenges to maintain that relationship, and what comes after that. Adele manages to nail every scene by bringing out a whole spectrum of emotions.
Whether it is a lesbian story or not, in the realm of movies dealing with romance I can easily rank this one as high as the likes of 500 Days of Summer, for the level of depth and honesty. It is definitely far more genuine than the pretentious "The Kids are All Right". La vie d'Adèle's strength is in the raw emotions so it does not need to rely on philosophical/ intelligent points which may work in some other movies of the same genre, even though the director did raise some food-for-thought, verbally, in certain scenes that were not-so-obvious. The only thing that drags this movie below perfection is I feel there is still a lack of involvement from the side characters (parents, friends circle, ex-lovers) given that it is a 3-hour movie. There is some, but not enough. In a coming-of-age story, influence form the people around the main characters could be important factors to how relationship changes.
As the Palm d'Or winner, I would be happy if it to win the foreign Oscar, but this failed to top Le Passe (A follow-up of the brilliant A Separation) in my view
Adele & Lea, the main leads, should deserve the Oscar (if only it is possible for that category) for their acting performances that were very convincing during the ups and downs of the relationships. For Adele in particular, the movie demands a lot from her role. It explores the sexual identity confusion at the beginning, to the moment when true love appears, the joys and challenges to maintain that relationship, and what comes after that. Adele manages to nail every scene by bringing out a whole spectrum of emotions.
Whether it is a lesbian story or not, in the realm of movies dealing with romance I can easily rank this one as high as the likes of 500 Days of Summer, for the level of depth and honesty. It is definitely far more genuine than the pretentious "The Kids are All Right". La vie d'Adèle's strength is in the raw emotions so it does not need to rely on philosophical/ intelligent points which may work in some other movies of the same genre, even though the director did raise some food-for-thought, verbally, in certain scenes that were not-so-obvious. The only thing that drags this movie below perfection is I feel there is still a lack of involvement from the side characters (parents, friends circle, ex-lovers) given that it is a 3-hour movie. There is some, but not enough. In a coming-of-age story, influence form the people around the main characters could be important factors to how relationship changes.
As the Palm d'Or winner, I would be happy if it to win the foreign Oscar, but this failed to top Le Passe (A follow-up of the brilliant A Separation) in my view