Lesbian Film’s Stars Clash With Director Before Opening

The lesbian romance that won the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival is out on French screens -- stirring more controversy for cast-and-crew disagreements than for the explicit sex scenes.

Abdellatif Kechiche, the Tunisian-born director of “Blue is the Warmest Color,” has hit back after actresses Adele Exarchopoulos, 19, and Lea Seydoux, 28, complained in an interview of his grueling working methods. The squabbles are clouding the movie’s critical triumphs.