Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

"When you asked if I had known love. I could tell the answer was yes. And that it was now. "Marianne (Noemie Merlant)

No art form has struggled more to get the depiction of love just right than film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire gets it almost perfect, and it's Sapphic! All you modest types don't need to worry-writer director Celine Siamma stresses the longing and the dance of love much more than its physicality. Two young women spend most of this beautiful romance just getting to the first dance, and the journey is as exciting and anguishing as it was for us in those early years of exploring.

Late 18th century Marianne has been hired to paint young Heloise (Adele Haenel) for her wedding portrait. Not that you can't guess what is going to happen while the first portrait is being painted, but the film languishes long and deep on the glances between these two potential lovers. Those gazes encapsulate the truth of their affections and the high-mindedness of their intentions.

Perhaps the business of painting lends the ethereal quality to their love, which is born of the imagination and fleetingly put on canvas forever. It's just that the slow, loving pace of the camera and the conceit lend a mystery (Will they connect?) and a sweetness (how transforming love can be from a scowl to a smile).

The cinematography, especially of the rugged cliffs and the sea, is well-aligned with the power and danger of their tender love. Not even mother's (Valeira Golino) affection for her remote daughter pales next to the burgeoning passion of the leads.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire fiercely speaks to the fire, conventional or not, that can burn in all of us. Leave it to film to bring out the love in our hearts.

"To love pure and chaste from afar." Man of La Mancha

All I can say about this movie is that it is beautiful. From the cinematography to the soundtrack to the acting everything about the movie is perfectly executed creating an emotionally connected experience for the viewer. If you have not yet seen this movie I recommend that you put it at the top of your to watch list because it's what I believe to be one of the best movies of 2019

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

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.

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.