Portrait of a Lady On Fire
Céline Sciamma has written and directed such a wonderful story about four characters who are all in different stages of dealing with the struggles of defining who they are and who they want to be, in a world that seems both disinterested in them and yet seems so eager to control them.
La Comtesse represents the wisdom and complacency of age. Sophie represents the tenacity and the rebelliousness of youth. Caught between these two are Heloise and Marianne. When we meet them, they are closer to La Comtesse, deep in the throws of adulthood. Preparing themselves for lives they know will never be truly fulfilling. But their chance meeting, in a place secluded from the outside world, provides them the opportunity to open themselves up, to reignite their youthfulness and find love.
The movie is seen through the eye’s of Marianne, a gifted painter, and we are blessed by it. The lighting, blocking, scenery, set design, and wardrobe work in harmony to deliver frames of film that look more like oil paintings. The camera often will mimic her gaze, catching fleeting moments, wishing so deeply that we can save them in our memories.
The script isn’t heavy on the dialogue and there are big moments that are conveyed with nothing more than a glance. As women in this society, they are very rarely in a position to voice their opinions or to have agency over their own life. This lack of dialogue speaks to these characters being people who will live so much of their lives never sharing openly how they feel or what they need, but out of preservation, have learned to imbue something as simple as a look with so much more.
There is also very little music in this film, but when it arrives, it carries with it a powerful energy. In particular there is a moment, midway through the film that truly sums up this entire film for me. In the darkness of night, dozens of women stand around a fire, with only each other as company. Suddenly a small hum breaks through the silence, it’s pitch slowly rising. As it does, one hum becomes two, and quickly a coral of harmonizing sounds. Then the clapping begins. Finally, there is singing. First a few voices, and then a few more, and then it’s all their voices. Each one of of these women contributing a small piece to the larger whole. It is a moment of such beauty that carries so much thematic importance. Throughout their lives, these women will be given no option or opportunity to decide for themselves who or what they are. They will struggle to find their own voice. This moment around the campfire, like the several days Marianne and Heloise have together, is a chance for these women to be who they are, to embrace themselves fully, without restraint.
- ctcher
