Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait of a Lady on Fire elicited a strange response from me after viewing it. There was no doubt when I left the theater I was in a haze of wonderment. But I didn’t have an immediate, visceral reaction to it the way others seemed to. The next several days found me chewing on scenes in my head over and over again. It wasn’t until four days after I saw it that I realized that I absolutely loved it. I can only guess that my body was in some sort of prolonged state of shock and it took me days to fully recover.

It took me a long time to even want to sit down and write a review, mainly because I didn’t feel my writing would be sufficient enough to convey the beauty of the film. It probably will not be. But I felt I owed it to director Céline Sciamma to at least try, so that someone else might be encouraged to watch this masterpiece that she has created.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire takes place in the eighteenth century. Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is a painter who is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman named Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). The trouble is that Marianne must paint Héloïse without her knowledge. Their relationship consists of taking walks together as Marianne tries desperately to remember details about Héloïse so that she can paint her at night, in secret. The painting will be sent to a suitor in Italy and if he is pleased, Héloïse will be married.

Despite the women being ensnared in a patriarchal world, men are largely absent in the film. Screen time is dominated by women, mainly the trio consisting of Marianne, Héloïse, and the maid Sophie (Luàna Bajrami). Watching three young girls pass the time together in the eighteenth century was admittedly very fun. They play cards, read Orpheus and Eurydice, and take walks by the sea. With marvelous acting performances from the three women who are on screen the most, it was easy to fall into the story and stay there.

And what a compelling story it is. Sciamma focuses on miniscule looks from both Merlant and Haenel that convey the extent of the longing that proliferates throughout the film. Gazing upon each woman never feels invasive or gratuitous, which is a credit to Sciamma’s directing.

Sciamma is not one to scant on imagery so fire is an appropriate adjective for this film. There are many different types of fire sprinkled throughout the movie. There are two incidences of actual fire emphasizing a point, one is a portrait being set ablaze which is the more literal interpretation of the title of the film. There are instances of smoldering fires which reside in the looks exchanged between the two women. There are soft glowing embers of friendships that look out for each other.

I could go on but I’m afraid it would just be rambling nonsense. I guarantee you that my words have failed on an extraordinary level to describe to you the heart wrenching beauty of this film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire will rekindle your love of cinema if you have lost it and ignite a love of cinema if you have never experienced it. It’s that good. 

Film or Movie: Film
You’ll like this film if:
1. You are interested in sapphic relationships
2. You like French cinema
3. You have ever experienced a love that was doomed from the start