Céline Sciamma's 2019 romance "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," although only made three years ago, recently appeared in the 2022 Sight and Sound Film Poll as the 30th best film of all time. It won Best Screenplay and the Queer Palm at Cannes, was nominated for 11 César Awards, and topped any number of critics' best-of-the-year lists. And, honestly, it's just that good. When it was released on Blu-ray directly to the prestigious Criterion Collection, few could claim to have batted an eye.
Sciamma's film is about romance, but it's also about looking. Looking at someone, drifting into their eyes, sharing their space, connecting with their heart and body, falling in love with them as a work of art. In the late 18th century, a portrait painter named Marianne (Noémie Merlant) has been commissioned by a dry aristocrat to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) as a means of "selling...
Sciamma's film is about romance, but it's also about looking. Looking at someone, drifting into their eyes, sharing their space, connecting with their heart and body, falling in love with them as a work of art. In the late 18th century, a portrait painter named Marianne (Noémie Merlant) has been commissioned by a dry aristocrat to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) as a means of "selling...
- 1/14/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
“Painterly” might be an overused term to describe a certain aesthetic of period cinematography, informed by candlelit interiors and sweeping outdoor compositions. But it seizes the essence of French writer-director Céline Sciamma’s deeply feminist 18th-century gay romance set on the coast of Brittany, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” which debuted in theaters on Valentine’s Day.
To bring to life the story of unwilling bride-to-be Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) and artist-for-hire Marianne (Noémie Merlant), tasked with painting a secret wedding portrait of Héloïse, Sciamma and cinematographer Claire Mathon visited art museums alongside classically trained painter Hélène Delmaire. Through their research, the trio aimed to define Marianne’s style and process on the canvas and make a movie that leans into artful compositions.
Delmaire created most of Marianne’s paintings in the film, drawing inspiration from 18th- and 19th-century greats like still-life genius Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, miniaturist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, portrait painter...
To bring to life the story of unwilling bride-to-be Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) and artist-for-hire Marianne (Noémie Merlant), tasked with painting a secret wedding portrait of Héloïse, Sciamma and cinematographer Claire Mathon visited art museums alongside classically trained painter Hélène Delmaire. Through their research, the trio aimed to define Marianne’s style and process on the canvas and make a movie that leans into artful compositions.
Delmaire created most of Marianne’s paintings in the film, drawing inspiration from 18th- and 19th-century greats like still-life genius Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, miniaturist Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, portrait painter...
- 2/21/2020
- by Tomris Laffly
- Variety Film + TV
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