Retrato de una mujer en llamas

I'm by no means a film critic, but I thought a review coming from my perspective might be helpful.

I watched two movies this weekend: Godzilla vs Kong, and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Godzilla was fun. I thought seeing giant monsters fight in Hong Kong was very entertaining. The plot and characters were a distraction from the action I was looking for. I watched it, thought, "hell yeah," and moved on.

This movie was an entirely different experience. I was enthralled in these characters. The cinematography spoke just as much as the dialogue did. The actors spoke as much with their silence as with their words. I was crying at the end, and expect this movie to leave an impression. This is art, just like the paintings of the film itself. Cannot recommend enough. Godzilla was brainless entertainment, this was a moving experience to be a part of.

No matter what movies you usually like, do yourself a favor and watch this.

Beautifully acted and technically sharp, Portrait of a Lady on Fire presents a tragic love story that feels familiar yet wholly original. The length can feel excessive, but by the time the credits roll you will be hard-pressed to find a single moment that felt wasted.

Amazing cinematography and acting! Beautiful film! Minimal dialogue made up for with major body language and emotional expression.

The acting by the two principle actresses in this movie is first-rate. The direction, though it moves slowly, is very good.

But what made this movie remarkable for me was the cinematography. The most striking scenes feature the blonde character walking along the shore against a relatively light-blue sea. You have to see it to experience how beautiful those scenes are.

But some of the interior scenes have face lighting that will make you think of Rembrandt. (The movie is about a painter, so it's not surprising that the lighting of faces should be very important.)

There are other scenes where you have one deep red dress against a white background, again to very striking effect.

I just saw this movie in France, so with neither dubbing nor subtitles. I don't know how it will work with either of them.

But if you can understand the language - which is very clear, very classic standard French with little background noise behind it - you will discover a remarkable study of two women photographed in a truly astounding manner.

For starters, I can't possibly understand the lack of Oscar nominations for this movie. One of the best movies of the year, not only foreign. The acting is superb and would put Merlant (or even Haenel) instead of Charlize Theron for example. The cinematography is breathtaking, the shots are long and so beautiful put. It's such a smooth transition between the characters and the plot with such attention to detail. Really gorgeous and it locks your eyes on screen and the end... jesus christ, emotions running high. Really recommend it!