Graphic Novel Author Criticises Cannes Palm d’Or Winning Lesbian-Themed Film Based On Her Book

A few days ago it was revealed that Abdellatif Kechiche’s Blue Is The Warmest Colour had won the prestigious Cannes Palm d’Or, with much comment about the movie’s lengthy, explicit lesbian sex scene. While some heralded it as a new benchmark for showing female love on-screen as part of a complex, emotional relationship, it appears Julie-Maroh disagrees.

Her opinion is more interesting than most, as she wrote the graphic novel the movie is based on. The movie is about 15-year-old Adele (Adele Exarchopoulos), and her her burgeoning relationship with Emma (Lea Seydoux).

In a blog post, Maroh writes about the sex scene, “I don’t know the sources of information for the director and the actresses (who are all straight, unless proven otherwise) and I was never consulted upstream… Maybe there was someone there to awkwardly imitate the possible positions with their hands, and/or to show them some porn of so-called ‘lesbians’ (unfortunately it’s hardly ever actually for a lesbian audience).

“Because – except for a few passages – this is all that it brings to my mind: a brutal and surgical display, exuberant and cold, of so-called lesbian sex, which turned into porn, and [made] me feel very ill at ease. Especially when, in the middle of a movie theatre, everyone was giggling.

“The heteronormative laughed because they don’t understand it and find the scene ridiculous. The gay and queer people laughed because it’s not convincing, and [they] found it ridiculous. And among the only people we didn’t hear giggling were the potential guys [sic] too busy feasting their eyes on an incarnation of their fantasies on screen.”

However she adds, “As a feminist and lesbian spectator, I cannot endorse the direction Kechiche took on these matters… I’m also looking forward to what other women will think about it. This is simply my personal stance.”

It’ll be interesting to see what others think as the film is released around the world, although due to its explicit nature, the director has suggested it may be cut down in some places, if it becomes a bar to getting distribution. (Via PinkNews)