“Blue Is the Warmest Color” has been stamped with the dreaded NC-17 rating – not that the film’s U.S. distributor seems worried.
“The film is first and foremost a film about love, coming of age and passion. We refuse to compromise [director Abdellatif] Kechiche’s vision by trimming the film for an R rating, and we have every confidence that ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ will play in theaters around the country regardless,” said Sundance Selects and IFC Films President Jonathan Sehring in a statement. “An NC-17 rating no longer holds the stigma it once did, and we look forward to bringing this unforgettable film to audiences nationwide.”
“Blue Is the Warmest Color,” which took home the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, charts the “intense and complicated” romance that develops between two young women (Lea Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos) over the course of a decade. Among other things, the film features a prolonged 12-minute sex scene between the two lead characters and several instances of full-frontal female nudity.
“We have intimate knowledge of how the MPAA works, and it is unquestionable that changes must be made,” continued Sehring, referring to IFC Films’ release of the acclaimed 2006 Kirby Dick documentary “This Film Is Not Yet Rated,” which is critical of the MPAA ratings system. “That the board finds violence acceptable for young viewers while condemning sex is egregious.”
“Blue Is the Warmest Color” is slated to screen at the New York Film Festival and hits select theaters on October 25.
Do you think it’s fair for the MPAA to give “Blue Is the Warmest Color” an NC-17 rating for sexual content alone? Let us know in the comments.