Ok, so, first things first. This graphic novel is SOOO NSFW. As I discovered... at work. It was an awkward lunch period for me trying to hide the penis pictures on my Kindle.
That being said, I did enjoy the story. It was heartfelt and sweet and showed well what a lot of people who are gay go through. Clementine has a ton of problems when her parents (inevitably) find out about her sexuality. (Though, spoiler alert, it's the dumbest way possible because who walks around naked in their significant other's parent's house?)
I do think something is lost when viewed in black and white (I think all the copies are black and white, but I could be wrong. I'd have to see a non-digital version.) Either way, my Kindle is black and white, so I didn't catch onto things like... Emma's hair is blue, until the very end when Clem mentioned it.
I also like that Clem has friends outside of her girlfriend. The passing of time is a little weird in this book. One second she's 17 and the next second she's 30. We really don't get any sort of real transition, it's just BAM all this time has passed. It almost seemed like Mahoh got bored of writing and just wanted to hurry the story along (which is legit, because it was dragging a bit.)
Overall, the book wasn't bad, but it's not something I'd ever pick up again.
As many French books are, and as many graphic novels are, this is kind of a confusing book. And that's not good. Considering I was a French major and read almost any graphic novel I touch, me being confused by it is a bad sign. Not that I'm an expert on either of those things, but you shouldn't have to be.
Cassy's absolutely right... this is an absolutely NSFW book. The movie adaptation is NC-17; that should give you a heads-up. Also, French graphic novel about lesbians, did you miss that part? There's going to be nudity and sex and... a lot more of both of those.
I watched the movie, too... also confusing. And boring. But hey, indie film based on a French graphic novel about a lesbian relationship? You have to be part of a very specific audience to enjoy that. Granted, I am part of that very specific audience, so I guess you also have to really want to watch 179 minutes of an NC-17 movie with improvised lines, a sex scene that took 10 days to film (and that's only one of the sex scenes) with no hairstylist or makeup artist on set (which I actually think is pretty cool, but it was a little odd). But hey, it was the first movie adaptation of a graphic novel to win the Palme d'Or, so there's that.
Cassy's absolutely right... this is an absolutely NSFW book. The movie adaptation is NC-17; that should give you a heads-up. Also, French graphic novel about lesbians, did you miss that part? There's going to be nudity and sex and... a lot more of both of those.
I watched the movie, too... also confusing. And boring. But hey, indie film based on a French graphic novel about a lesbian relationship? You have to be part of a very specific audience to enjoy that. Granted, I am part of that very specific audience, so I guess you also have to really want to watch 179 minutes of an NC-17 movie with improvised lines, a sex scene that took 10 days to film (and that's only one of the sex scenes) with no hairstylist or makeup artist on set (which I actually think is pretty cool, but it was a little odd). But hey, it was the first movie adaptation of a graphic novel to win the Palme d'Or, so there's that.
No comments:
Post a Comment