Portrait of a Lady on Fire

In select theaters
February 14^th 2020

121 minutes

French
Italian

France

France, 1760. Marianne is commissioned to paint the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Because she is a reluctant bride-to-be, Marianne arrives under the guise of companionship, observing Héloïse by day and secretly painting her by firelight at night. As the two women orbit one another, intimacy and attraction grow as they share Héloïse’s first moments of freedom. Héloïse's portrait soon becomes a collaborative act of and testament to their love. Winner of a coveted Cannes prize and one of the best reviewed films of the year, PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE solidifies Céline Sciamma as one of the most exciting filmmakers working in the world today.

starring...

Noémie Merlant

Marianne

Adèle Haenel

Héloïse

Luàna Bajrami

Sophie

Valeria Golino

La Comtesse

Writer/Director

Céline Sciamma

Cinematography

Claire Mathon

Music

Jean-Baptiste de Laubier, Arthur Simonini

Editing

Julien Lacheray

Casting

Christel Baras

Production Design

Thomas Grézaud

Costume Design

Dorothée Guiraud

Producer

Bénédicte Couvreur

90% on the CINEMETER

89% - Feb 2, 2020

Elegant and poetic. Every scene was beautiful.
San Francisco Member

A gorgeous and compelling film. Visually stunning.
San Francisco Member

What a beautiful film showing the ugly plight of women.
San Francisco Member

Every painter knows it's not what you look at but what you see. And the pacing of this film -- patient scrutiny -- matched the timing necessary to a painterly vision. Deliciously slow and visually scrumptious!
San Francisco Member

Loved the almost exclusive focus on women. A study in sisterhood.
San Francisco Member

A beautiful love story of slow discovery, our own "Call Me By Your Name."
San Francisco Member

I mostly liked this film - but also found it odd. A modern sensibility in a period piece was somewhat jarring. And the sparseness of it sometimes felt formal - but in the end, I found it quite moving.
San Francisco Member

ATL

87% - Feb 9, 2020

Beautifully rendered portrayal of women’s strength and love for one another. The acting was superb; we could almost have enjoyed this without dialogue, the portrayal of the emotions was so perfectly wrought.
Atlanta Member

A masterpiece—excuse the male-centric language but isn’t it appropriate to note that there is no “female centric” language for great works of art by a woman. Beautifully rendered—and deliberately paced—I loved how the film lures you in and demands you see it on her terms—trapped, confined, claustrophobic. Loved the allusions to Bergman (Persona), as well as Hitchcock (it had both a Vertigo and Rebecca feel to it, the paining of Mrs. Danvers and Carlotta Valdez), while also distinctly and defiantly original. Brava!
Atlanta Member

A tale of forbidden love as only the French can do it. In turns, suspenseful, erotic, introspective and beautifully filmed. C’est Magnifique!
Atlanta Member

One of the very best I’ve seen in my ten years in this club. A work of art. Reminds me of The Color Purple---in my book, another masterpiece.
Atlanta Member

Beautiful surroundings, and constrained, restrained, acting. I could so relate to the strengthening companionship of the women. The intimate scenes made me personally uncomfortable. The final scene was memorable.
Atlanta Member

A delicate, tender and sensuous film. The story was elegantly done with a resounding ending.
Atlanta Member

Exquisite!
Atlanta Member

An excellent film--Art is Love. Love is art!
Atlanta Member

A beautiful portrait of how we frame one another + ourselves. Timely/timeless for the way we live today—selfies are limitless, curated for identity and narrative; how much do we really know of one another through images and the taking of images? It is just a frame in a moment, one decision.
Atlanta Member

MIL

92% - Feb 2, 2020

Beautiful! Like a painting brought to life. Loved every minute--wished that it didn't end.
Milwaukee Member

The whole movie was an exquisite painting. The acting (lots of non-acting!) was marvelous. I would follow these women anywhere!
Milwaukee Member

Beautiful; covered a host of complex issues in women's lives.
Milwaukee Member

Gorgeous. Insightful. Moving. One of the best films that the Cinema Club has ever shown.
Milwaukee Member

Wow. This film reached deep in my soul. It brought me right back to falling in love, and made me appreciate having had that feeling.
Milwaukee Member

STL

95% - Feb 9, 2020

A lot of people may say this movie was too long but I think this was necessary to sow the development of the emotions between the two main characters. Their feelings of attraction need to be slow as neither appeared to have those types of feelings before.
St. Louis Member

Loved this movie. A feast for the eyes and the heart! So many themes that affect women today (though not to the same level.)
St. Louis Member

A great work of art that celebrates the power and value of art! Every moment is beautiful!
St. Louis Member

How could a movie move so slowly and be so suspenseful? I loved it.
St. Louis Member

So beautiful and painful, in that the women had so little choice in life and yet were powerful/strong. Music was fantastic.
St. Louis Member

Holy Crap! I love this film. Beautiful story and the use of time is incredible. Time slows down and you observe Marianne and Heloise falling in love over time, presence and truly looking at each other, equals love.
St. Louis Member

What a beautiful film--a work of art in portraying the evolution of a painting and a friendship which turns into a true love. The cinematography was so exquisite that many of the frames were gorgeous portraits or landscapes themselves. The scenes in candlelight and bright sunlight were jarring reminders of how important light is to life, mood and certainly film and photography. The friendship of the three women was very touching in how it crossed social classes and morés. Viewing this was a fantastic experience--carrying me away to a different time, a different place.
St. Louis Member

BOS

86% - Feb 2, 2020

Riveting and magnificent --totally engrossing and emotionally gripping. Loved seeing a historical LGBT film.
Boston Member

A true artist’s film. Outstanding use of color and pattern to enhance the story. It will linger in my memory.
Boston Member

This film is so beyond magnificent.
Boston Member

The scene showing the maid having an abortion next to the baby was brave.
Boston Member

One of the most painterly films I’ve seen. I felt like I was watching a series of portraits compiled to tell the story--gorgeous.
Boston Member

The film highlights the enormous creative talent of women, not just their imprisonment. The servant, too, is valorized--an egalitarian feminist gesture
Boston Member

The minimal dialogue made every word that much more important. It created a slow, simmering story.
Boston Member

96% - Feb 2, 2020

Superb direction! Beautiful, deep, wonderful acting. Quite thought-provoking.
Washington, DC Member

It was like a Vermeer painting come to life. I loved the spareness and space of the scenes, allowing the viewer to meditate on the image and situation.
Washington, DC Member

This film was perfect. Full stop.
Washington, DC Member

A remarkable film about all experiences of female senses and sensuality - looking and seeing - speaking, hearing, listening, touching, making - and scent. And in a completely woman-centered environment in which they found freedom, all while enclosed by constraints - a joy to behold in all its cinematic achievements.
Washington, DC Member

The most beautiful, entrancing lesbian romance I’ve seen since Todd Haynes’ ‘Carol.’ Even with such a slow, quiet atmosphere, it completely pulls you in and hypnotized you with its luscious cinematography and uncanny realism. Though it shares a lot of similar themes and ideas of femininity and sexuality present in her other films, this is really the film that showcases Celine Sciamma’s versatility as a director when it comes to her visual tone and differences in aesthetic. Genuinely cannot imagine disliking this film (unless you’re a dunce).
Washington, DC Member

Exquisite artistry in every aspect. The subtle process of love’s beginning, the delicate interactions. The stunning cinematography, the gorgeous, luminous lighting - all reflective of the concept of art, painting and love at the core of the story.
Washington, DC Member

87% - Feb 2, 2020

Sensual, thoughtful, intimate. How passion and the arts hold hands.
Greater New Haven Member

Really happy to see a film in which men exit early and permanently. This is a women's film in many ways (narratively and in terms of technique), but can it speak across the bridge, to a male audience?
Greater New Haven Member

Brilliant film: a fascinating exploration of art, painting, myth and love.
Greater New Haven Member

I have never seen such a beautiful and artistic film! Every frame was a painting. (Note: quite a few positive comments on the film's painterliness.)
Greater New Haven Member

In the beginning the painting tells her students to look at her, and the film says so much through gazes...the facial acting is so subtle, and expresses so much.
Greater New Haven Member

An exquisitely restrained romance (and any comments received referencing 'paint drying' were written by a man!).
Greater New Haven Member

Neon