Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Things kick off simply, if not innocently, in Céline Sciamma’s masterful period film.

Once in a while there is a work of art so specific, so complex, so new in its oldness and old in its newness, that it moves the craft, our craft, to another level of seeing.

There's almost no single moment in Portrait of a Lady on Fire that couldn't be captured, mounted, and hung on a wall as high art.

There are many great acting moments in this film, but you should especially savor the final shot, the long close-up of Haenel in profile. Put simply, it's why we go to the movies.

...an exquisite love story.

Even without showing men onscreen, Sciamma depicts the myriad ways in which the patriarchy constricts the lives of her female protagonists.

Add two tantalizing performances from Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel, and you have yourself one of the most romantic, beautiful films of the decade...

The film links several interesting themes: the role of women artists at that time, lesbianism, abortion, social canons and their hypocrisy. There are at least two aspects of the women painters that are well and correspond to historical facts.

Watching the two women grow closer together is almost intoxicating, even with the devastating knowledge that they’ll never truly be able to have what they want.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire, is a triumph. Few romance movies capture the totality of love, loss, and remembrance in the way Sciamma does in this film.