The amount of tears I cried during “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is enough to fill a reservoir.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is more than just special. It’s art. It’s art in the truest form, both literally and metaphorically. Celine Sciamma is a director I had never heard of up until I first saw Portrait of a Lady on Fire at the Boston Film Festival, and this is a more than proper introduction. Sciamma is apparently a huge name in feminist filmmaking, making films strictly from the point of view of women and how they go about their overall lifestyles. With every film she makes, there’s always a different hook to them. In the case of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, that hook is a woman falling in love with someone she may never see again when she’s done with her job.
I don’t mean falling in love in the traditional sense, I mean the kind of falling in love where you feel like the person is enough to complete you. The kind of falling in love where you feel like you finally found yourself after feeling lost for what seems like a lifetime and it gives you a really beautiful high. The kind of falling in love where just by looking at them, the world goes quiet and everything goes dark, but the only thing you can see is that one person and you can’t help but smile and sob. That’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Every frame of this looks like a painting, and every single color is so fleshed out and just bleeds through. It’s impossible to look away from it. I can’t begin to tell you how much this genuinely moved me on not only a film-making level, but an emotional level. I felt all kinds of emotion while watching this, but one of my favorite aspects is the lack of musical score, which gave the film such a peaceful and loving vibe. Throughout the whole film, it plays out through silence, through visual, and it’s one of the most soothing movies I may have ever seen.
The screenplay is also worth noting. It plays out like a poem and these actresses go back and forth with this dialogue beautifully. There are also so many elements of foreshadowing, long takes, and even just editing in general that I have never seen done like THIS before. Sciamma is a director who’s work I want to binge right now. If her movies are as good as this, then we’ve had a master in the spotlight for quite a while now.
Of course, this film isn’t without its representation and to say this film is diverse would be an understatement. I already mentioned Sciamma is a feminist filmmaker; pretty much every film she makes is a female-centered film. In Portait of a Lady on Fire, the film is literally all women. All the supporting characters are women, the two main leads are women, and the men are merely cameos at best. These women are some of the most interesting, smart, kind, strong characters you will see in LONG time. You can’t watch this film and not fall in love with these characters. You’re with them every step of the way, and they grab you and don’t let go. Sciamma also worked with a crew that is mostly female, and they did such an impeccable job fleshing all of these colors out to look like a painting, knowing just when to cut, making the costumes look as authentic as possible…it’s just perfect.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire isn’t like most other films. It engages you, but in such an unconventional way. A way you wouldn’t expect. A way that’s just so beautiful. Please, please, PLEASE support this, give it everything you have. Top 5 of 2019, and one of the best of the 2010s decade.
