“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” — One for the Ages
I would have loved to begin my so-called “film-writing” or, in general, “entertainment-writing” journey with Christopher Nolan’s recent Magnum Opus — Oppenheimer. Although I had done a psychological deep-dive into the impact of women on Oppenheimer’s character, this is a time for an entirely different masterpiece, which not many people have watched, sadly.
Celine Sciamma is one of the finest female directors in the world, with her making ripples in the industry since the start of her career. I am going to talk about her groundbreaking film Portrait of a Lady on Fire which somehow fell short of achieving an Oscar. This will contain minor spoilers!
The first thing that struck me were the visuals and the building of the environment through the color-grading that was done. The moment you see the first shot and the actual story begins, you feel like you are a fly on the wall as you are transported to that era and that setting. The cinematographer and the director bring out the beauty in shots where normally one wouldn’t see it. Although a deeply evocative and intimate movie, one has to admit the depiction of the sheer beauty and richness on the big screen. The simplicity in the sets and the grandeur in the cinematography are perfectly in sync with each other here.
Another technical aspect that piques my interest in this film is the brilliance of the sound design. It really helps when an instrumental music aficionado like me gets to listen to all-time great pieces like “The Four Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi, which makes the movie seem like its own symphony dancing on the tunes of the great musical score. Overall, this can be called one of the best technically-sound films of all time (not to discount other films, this is just my personal opinion). From a technical point of view, I don’t know if you can ask for much more than this.
Now to address the aspects which, other than the technicalities, really made me fall in love with the movie and would make any cinephile fall in love as well: the acting performances, story and direction. Starting with the performances, there isn’t a moment you wouldn’t want to steal away from the screen, which is also a testament to the direction. The two leads capture your emotions, your mood, your feeling, your heart, your soul and break it completely by the end of the movie experience. There is a chemistry between the two characters before they even come face to face with each other, and that is the beauty of the build-up and the cinematic language at play by the director here. I don’t think I can talk about the performances without including the story. The fact that the story does not feel like a story, and more like an experience in these women’s lives that they lived and cherished, is the most fascinating and seamless thing about this movie. The story is a slow-burn romance between a painter and her subject, with a volatile and raging intensity simmering beneath the two innocent people who do not know the key to unlocking change in their lives is one another.
There is never a moment where as a viewer, you feel that this romance will turn into tragedy, even though you know its fate from the very start. You want to believe in the innocence of their romance, their love and you do believe it, as both the characters do. You feel what they feel. You see what they see. And you emote what they emote. There isn’t a moment where you want to suspend your belief in seeking the entertainment you want to attain, because you don’t need to suspend your belief, your belief is with them, in their actions and in their romance.
The performances are as if in themselves taken out of a section of a sonata or symphony, which goes with the flow where it goes, and you know where it goes, and yet you are so enchanted by all of it, you are desperate for them to take you along. Coming to the direction, there have been choices in the department that absolutely astonish you and make you wonder how, but never why in the course of the story. Seeing almost all Celine Sciamma’s films (except Petite Maman of 2021), I can with absolute certainty say that it is her best directorial outing.
As a viewer and as a cinephile, I could not and cannot find a discernible fault in the movie, as it is arguably the greatest modern romantic film of all time, past and future included. I do want to talk about one particular scene though. The one long shot just zooming in and out on the amazingly animated face of Adèle Haenel. Just the purity of the scene and the relentless camera on her face, with “L’Éte” of the “Four Seasons” in the background, still makes me cry to this day looking at her face with that genius choice of music. Like the animals, birds and every creature buzzing and running at the sign of a storm, you can see the dance of destruction from her eyes to her lips, with her emotions ruling her being, completely and totally. This has to go down as the greatest climax scene of all time in cinematic history, even as we consider the emotional gravity that Haenel pulls in, out of nowhere.
This article is a recommendation. You will definitely miss out if you do not see this visual art portrayed on the screen. This was undoubtedly the bestfilm of the year 2019, even surpassing the greatness of Parasite.
