Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (Portrait of a Lady on Fire)
2019
*****
Director: Céline Sciamma
Cast: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino, Christel Baras, Armande Boulanger, Guy Delamarche, Clément Bouyssou, Michèle Clément, Bénédicte Coureur
At the end of the 18th century, a young painter named Marianne travels to a remote island in Brittany to paint a portrait of Héloïse, who is about to marry a man she has never met. Over the following days, a mutual attraction develops between them. Céline Sciamma's subtle and stunning romantic drama explores a lesbian relationship shaped by the constraints of society. The outcome of their forbidden love is inevitable, but that does not make it any less heartbreaking. Sciamma's quietly devastating film features no score, wonderfully understated performances, and a languid visual style. The period costumes and candlelit shots evoke memories of Barry Lyndon.
