Portrait of a Lady on Fire

"When you asked if I had known love. I could tell the answer was yes. And that it was now. "Marianne (Noemie Merlant)

No art form has struggled more to get the depiction of love just right than film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire gets it almost perfect, and it's Sapphic! All you modest types don't need to worry-writer director Celine Siamma stresses the longing and the dance of love much more than its physicality. Two young women spend most of this beautiful romance just getting to the first dance, and the journey is as exciting and anguishing as it was for us in those early years of exploring.

Late 18th century Marianne has been hired to paint young Heloise (Adele Haenel) for her wedding portrait. Not that you can't guess what is going to happen while the first portrait is being painted, but the film languishes long and deep on the glances between these two potential lovers. Those gazes encapsulate the truth of their affections and the high-mindedness of their intentions.

Perhaps the business of painting lends the ethereal quality to their love, which is born of the imagination and fleetingly put on canvas forever. It's just that the slow, loving pace of the camera and the conceit lend a mystery (Will they connect?) and a sweetness (how transforming love can be from a scowl to a smile).

The cinematography, especially of the rugged cliffs and the sea, is well-aligned with the power and danger of their tender love. Not even mother's (Valeira Golino) affection for her remote daughter pales next to the burgeoning passion of the leads.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire fiercely speaks to the fire, conventional or not, that can burn in all of us. Leave it to film to bring out the love in our hearts.

"To love pure and chaste from afar." Man of La Mancha

Beautifully acted and technically sharp, Portrait of a Lady on Fire presents a tragic love story that feels familiar yet wholly original. The length can feel excessive, but by the time the credits roll you will be hard-pressed to find a single moment that felt wasted.

This film's cinematography is beyond perfect. Every scene appears as though it was taken out of a masterpiece painting. The only other work I recall even close to its visual poetry is Barry Lyndon.

Every actor, especially the two leads, have done their job amazingly. Watch it if you haven't. This movie is art at its finest.

The acting by the two principle actresses in this movie is first-rate. The direction, though it moves slowly, is very good.

But what made this movie remarkable for me was the cinematography. The most striking scenes feature the blonde character walking along the shore against a relatively light-blue sea. You have to see it to experience how beautiful those scenes are.

But some of the interior scenes have face lighting that will make you think of Rembrandt. (The movie is about a painter, so it's not surprising that the lighting of faces should be very important.)

There are other scenes where you have one deep red dress against a white background, again to very striking effect.

I just saw this movie in France, so with neither dubbing nor subtitles. I don't know how it will work with either of them.

But if you can understand the language - which is very clear, very classic standard French with little background noise behind it - you will discover a remarkable study of two women photographed in a truly astounding manner.

I cannot recall the last time I watched a film that had me utterly mesmerised from the very start to the very end without a single interruption. Everything about this film is so lovingly crafted, from the nuanced and commanding central performances to the cinematography and subtly woven storyline - they all combine to produce a genuine piece of cinematic art. The lighting and palette drew inspiration from 18th century paintings, there are scenes in this film that will stay with me fore some time... and the slowly building inevitable climax to the story is heart achingly gratifying. An utterly original and beautiful instant classic that somehow didn't capture the attention of the Oscars Academy!