Portrait of a Lady on Fire * * * * *
Well it took all year but on the last day of 2019 I finally saw a film that I have to (want to) give five stars to.
This is a thing of rare beauty. Steeped in passion, tension, romance and intelligence and yet so beautifully restrained, even in pain anger and disappointment. No histrionics here.
The story is simple and told with great lucidity.
Its by French director Celine Sciamma, who so far hasn't put a foot wrong in her film making career, with each of her films and screenplays receiving well deserved praise. This is her fourth feature. She also wrote the original script and has provided a superb, intelligent, perceptive, almost poetic dialogue for her characters. The references to Orpheus are beautifully symbolic.
Set two hundred years ago Marianne arrives on an island. She is an artist who has been commissioned by a wealthy Countess to paint a portrait of her daughter, Heloise. The portrait is to be sent to Milan so that her suitor (who she has not even met) may see what Heloise looks like.
The problem for Marianne is that Heloise is a most unwilling subject and refuses to pose. But Heloise is wanting companionship so she requests that Marianne walk with her each morning. Marianne agrees of course and figures she will be able to meet her commission and paint Heloise by memorizing her face from their walks.
As they walk together each day their friendship grows, as does their understanding of each other.
Heloise's mother, The Countess, must go away for a while. She expects the portrait to be ready on her return. In her absence the relationship between Marianne and Heloise accelerates with an inflammatory passion as they give way to deeper feelings. They further bond through their mutual concern for the maid Sophie, who has a personal problem that Marianne and Heloise agree to help her with.
Visually it's stunning. Some of the most beautiful images and compositions I have ever seen in cinema. A few scenes literally took my breath away. (An image of a ghostly bride is beyond exquisite),
This is sparsely populated film, most of the action involves just three women. It is set primarily in a large villa and it's immediate surrounds, and on the beach. These three places constantly provide perfect colour and form to match the quiet intensity between the main characters. It's a situation that at times reminded me a little of Ingmar Bergman's Persona, though this is in no way indebted to that film.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is exquisite. A cinema experience to be treasured, and the best film I saw in 2019.
(5)
This is a thing of rare beauty. Steeped in passion, tension, romance and intelligence and yet so beautifully restrained, even in pain anger and disappointment. No histrionics here.
 |
| Just don't ask me about the title, okay? |
Its by French director Celine Sciamma, who so far hasn't put a foot wrong in her film making career, with each of her films and screenplays receiving well deserved praise. This is her fourth feature. She also wrote the original script and has provided a superb, intelligent, perceptive, almost poetic dialogue for her characters. The references to Orpheus are beautifully symbolic.
Set two hundred years ago Marianne arrives on an island. She is an artist who has been commissioned by a wealthy Countess to paint a portrait of her daughter, Heloise. The portrait is to be sent to Milan so that her suitor (who she has not even met) may see what Heloise looks like.
The problem for Marianne is that Heloise is a most unwilling subject and refuses to pose. But Heloise is wanting companionship so she requests that Marianne walk with her each morning. Marianne agrees of course and figures she will be able to meet her commission and paint Heloise by memorizing her face from their walks.
As they walk together each day their friendship grows, as does their understanding of each other.
Heloise's mother, The Countess, must go away for a while. She expects the portrait to be ready on her return. In her absence the relationship between Marianne and Heloise accelerates with an inflammatory passion as they give way to deeper feelings. They further bond through their mutual concern for the maid Sophie, who has a personal problem that Marianne and Heloise agree to help her with.
Visually it's stunning. Some of the most beautiful images and compositions I have ever seen in cinema. A few scenes literally took my breath away. (An image of a ghostly bride is beyond exquisite),
This is sparsely populated film, most of the action involves just three women. It is set primarily in a large villa and it's immediate surrounds, and on the beach. These three places constantly provide perfect colour and form to match the quiet intensity between the main characters. It's a situation that at times reminded me a little of Ingmar Bergman's Persona, though this is in no way indebted to that film.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is exquisite. A cinema experience to be treasured, and the best film I saw in 2019.
(5)
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