WR: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

          Because there are no movie theaters open and there probably won't be for the foreseeable future, I've decided (should've started weeks ago) to write reviews of movies that have been on my watch list for the longest time. Some of them will be classics for which my naivety has been shamed and others will be ones more under-the-radar that look like they might deserve more recognition. It makes sense, for me, to start this series with a film that released last year that I so anxiously awaited to be available in my area, but then when it was available I was too busy to see it. It's now on Hulu so I was finally able to watch it.

          Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a French foreign film, directed by Celine Sciamma, that takes place on a remote beachside abode where Marianne (Noemie Merlant) is commissioned to paint a portrait of a woman who is having an arranged marriage. Heloise (Adele Haenel), the soon-to-be bride, is grieving over the recent loss of her sister and drove out the previous painter with her stubbornness. Because of this, The Countess (the mother) asks that Marianne paint Heloise in secret and that she interact with her and absorb her phonetic details by being a companion for walks. The walks are the only reason that Heloise thinks that Marianne was brought on staff. Marianne finds some struggle in this request, but the two women start to become closer and this delicate look on these two women's developing relationship is something that only a woman could've translated to film.

           This movie released last year in the festival circuit and actually won Best Screenplay at Cannes. It's really a shame that it didn't go on to win anything big after that. Many in the community were in disbelief that France decided to submit Les Miserables as their entry for Best International Feature at the 2020 Oscars instead of Sciamma's masterpiece. But I digress. Let's actually talk about the movie.
           My favorite quality about this movie is that it's so controlled and held back that it makes the moments of release shine. The dialogue is executed very quietly. No one raises their voices, but because of this the moments where there is tension between the two characters are more effective. You can clearly hear it in their voices. You also appreciate the moments where there is something more than the silence that pervades the majority of the film. The sound of the ocean stands out more and each stroke of the paint brush has a life to it. One moment that really stands out is a scene where the three women (there is a maid that lives at the abode that has also become very acquainted with the two women) attend a feast where the rest of the women there break out into a folk tune. It starts out hauntingly dissonant as each woman slowly glissandos up to their notes and finally there is consonant harmony and two of the women break out into clapping and lyrics and the rest follow suit. It's a moment that stands out because there has been no score up to this point. The only other moment of music comes at the end and it's a classical piece that most people have heard before, but in context it's very emotional.
          When I said that waves and singing stood out more, that includes other things. One of them is the cinematography. This film was shot in 8k, but you don't need a high-tech screen to view it in its full glory. The technical choices bring out the colors immensely. The beach sand looks way more soft and the costumes are more elegant. The color of things like the ocean and fire and even the painted walls of the house are more vibrant. So much so that I stepped outside after watching this movie and found a new outlook on the colors of the world. The trees looked way more green than they did before and the sky looked like the ocean. It's one of the most beautiful looking films I've ever seen in my life.
          I mentioned earlier that a lot of the movie feels controlled and treads along in a quiet manner, but this can come off as incredibly boring. There is no action at all and it may feel like nothing happened once you reach the credits, but I implore you to think about it more. It's more than two women falling in love. It's exquisite and incredibly well-crafted. 10/10