Rated NC-12 in France, Blue is the Warmest Color (La Vie Adèle in French) has been rated NC-17 in the United States. A recommendation justified by the "explicit sexual content," said the MPAA. This is bad news for Abdellatif Kechiche, who will now have to settle for a reduced distribution in U.S. theaters and will be unable to promote the film in the media.

The U.S. distributor, Jonathan Sehring from IFC Films, does not intend to cut the sex scenes to escape censorship: "The film is first and foremost a film about love and passion. We refuse to compromise Kechiche's vision by cutting the film, and we have confidence in the fact that Blue is the Warmest Color will be played in theaters across the country, regardless of the classification. "

Blue is the Warmest Color is adapted from Julie Maroh's comic, Bleu est une couleur chaude. It tells the story of Adèle, 15, whose life is turned upside down the day she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who introduces her to same-sex desire.

The film will be released in U.S. theaters on October 25. It will be presented first at the New York Film Festival in early October.