Director: Céline Sciamma
Genre: Drama/ Romance
Runtime: 121
minutes
Year:
2019
Starring: Noémie
Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino
Description: On an
isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female
painter (Noémie Merlant) is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young
woman (Adèle Haenel)
Review: In a big house on an island lives a young lady, who is married off to a
rich guy in Milan. But he wants to inspect her first, without having to travel
all that way. A painter is therefore commissioned to do a portrait of her. But here
are obstacles. The young former nun doesn’t want to marry, just as her
tragically deceased sister didn’t want to either. And a previous painter
dropped out because she refused to pose. In other words, she must be painted in
secret, and the artist must pose as her chaperone.
Men play no significant role
in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”. They can be happy that their existence is
acknowledged at all. And that is exactly what works out so beautifully. The focus
is on four women in eighteenth-century Brittany: the bride-to-be Héloïse, the
painter Marianna, the servant Sophie and, sparingly, the countess of Italian
origin who commissions the portrait. The story is told mainly through the eyes
of the artist. They are her memories.
As they walk the beach
together, the artist tries to secretly observe her subject for a night
painting. But her fleeting glances are answered. Even though all sorts of
things seriously complicate their relationship, one thing is crystal clear from
the very beginning: Marianne and Héloïse feel a connection. And it grows deeper
and deeper over the course of the film. Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel splash
off the screen, especially in the moments when they are together. Even when
they barely exchange a word.
“Portrait of a Lady On Fire”
accepts some rigor from the costume drama, but never sees it as an end in itself.
The characters are allowed to blossom and develop and behave like real people. In
other words, there is not a constant politeness dictated by form, but an
interaction between people who, however, could have been waling around today. Director
Céline Sciamma has a talent for portraying young women in a way that everyone can
identify with, even if they run into problems that men don’t know about.
“Portrait of a Lady On Fire”
is a beautifully shot and well-crafted film.
Rating: 4, 5 / 5
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