Céline Sciamma’s 2019 “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”

Céline Sciamma (b.1978) makes films that illuminate queer experience, coming-of-age narratives, and the female gaze. She has cited David Lynch and Chantal Akerman as prominent influences on her practice. Sciamma's careful attention to the visual is emphasized by her decision to not include a musical score, making each scene a masterful vision that could be taken straight out of a painting.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a period piece set in 1770s France. In it, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of the reclusive, yet headstrong Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), a young woman who recently left the convent. Héloïse is reluctant to marry, making it impossible for other painters to render her, so Marianne is instructed to paint her in secret, observing her on their daily walks together. She is challenged to paint her from memory, but as she slowly gains her trust, the two women form an inexplicable bond, creating an unforgettable intimacy between them.

The film is a highly accurate depiction of the slow progress of looking involved in portrait painting. In this case, the film is about looking as much as it is about being seen. During their sittings together, the two women notice every detail about one another, where every gesture and expression become artifacts of their love for one another. The film encapsulates the profound yearning of love, one that if one is lucky, comes only once in a lifetime. An incredible story of care, female kinship, and loss, The Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an achingly beautiful and heartbreaking film framed by delicate silence, furtive glances, and visions of freedom.