so im just supposed to go on with my life after this?????????
HAROLD, THEY'RE LESBIANS!
The moment I knew I was gonna be forever owned by this film: ''Do all lovers think they're inventing something?'' :sob::pleading_face:
"Don't regret. Remember."
I delayed watching this movie for so long after accidentally reading that tagline; knew the emotions were going to hit hard.
I wish Héloïse saw Marianne in that final scene. Makes me think about what might've happened next. When Marianne said "She didn't see me.", that really broke me (well, I was already broken...).
This is one I'll definitely watch a second time.
The tag line says that the movies is about a woman is hired to paint a portrait of a woman in advance of her wedding. I am having a hard time describing how I feel about this film. Have you ever watched a film where you just know that you're watching something really special? Maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey? I felt that I had that kind of experience while watching it. I'd have to say that it was the best film that I've watched in the last calendar year.
First, the movie is crazy beautiful to look at. Every shot and every frame feels like it was painted using the same kind of detail and precision that the artist uses to paint her picture. There wasn't a single unnecessary or lazy scene in the film. Everything from the landscape to the intimate glances were just perfect.
I also really appreciated the references to the artistic process. It never occurred to me that while the artist was trying to drink in every aspect of the model that the model might be doing the same thing in return. Or that maybe a viewer might see a portrait in a different way in a different time because they have changed. Watching the movie felt very much like staring at a beautiful painting for a couple of hours when you have only really begin to scratch the surface in that amount of time. The same is probably true of the feminist angles that the movie touched on - I don't feel nearly qualified to comment on that angle.
Finally, the forbidden relationship. Being set in the 1700's meant that a woman's fate was mostly sealed. The women had no illusions about what they were and were not allowed to do so that didn't cloud their time together. There were a beautiful few days of discovery and then both knew it would be over. The final scene was perfect. The whole movie is just lovely.
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I loved the sweet, yet painful, romance between Marianne & Héloïse. Whenever I watch films that has lesbians in it, I fear that we may be hypersexualized, that our sex scenes are “overkill” (as it was in Blue is the Warmest Color). The male gaze is thankfully absent in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”. No shot was unnecessary; every second felt meaningful– so much so, that I feel like I could watch this another time and find even more subtleties to swoon over.
Exquisite. Beautiful. Heartbreaking. The photography is stunning. The performances are tender. The script is mesmerizing. Everything is perfect.
It's a perfect film. No other words needed.
10/10
Pretty much the definition of the term instant classic.
Masterpiece.
I'll never forgive this film for being so goddamn beautiful. Watched Citizen Kane last night. Shit look like ass now.
Just beautiful.
I've rarely seen two characters really see each other as in this movie. Observing each other's details and inner life as well as slowly opening themselves up like flowers to disclose more of those.
Amazingly shown by the director, moreover: with hands, eyes and silences (wonderful scenes by the fireplace).
I’ve never felt so many emotions at the same time in such great quantity. I don’t think I can explain the raw emotion of that last scene with just words. It’s just one of those things where once you experience it, you feel like you’ve reached the depths of the human spirit.
I was immediately blown away the first time I saw this film. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. So, the day after that, I watched it again.
Everything about this movie is very beautifully thought. The story is unique, the photography is extraordinary, the actresses are brilliant (THOSE GAZES, THOSE TOUCHES), the director (and writer) is incredible and the music is great as well. The plot is slowly simmered -filled with metaphores- just to explode with emotion right at the second part of the film. And the ending, it gets stucked in your head, making you wonder about what might have happened next.
I gave this movie a 9, just because I would have liked some things to be different. But it has definitely become one of my all-time favourites. Also, one of the best movies of 2019.
Go watch it!
PS: long live these holy lesbians! (I don't know what to do with my life now, to be honest)
I wasn’t quite as enamoured with this film as others have been but its still very good. Beautiful in parts, heartbreaking in others, and at the film’s end, a combination of both.
I feel my heart has been ripped out with this story. What a heartbreaking romance that should be a classic.
i have never been in love but i'm pretty sure this film just made me feel all the emotions you're supposed to feel when that happens while allowing me to enjoy gorgeous cinematic photography and an amazingly haunting soundtrack. instant sapphic classic, these are the movies we deserve, fam.
Beautiful movie that I will definitely revisit. Gorgeous cinematography, fantastic actors and a gripping story.
A beautiful, well made, heartbreaking love story.
A true masterwork of emotions. I went into this knowing very little about it, and it struck me about as hard as I suspected it could.
What I didn’t know was how many themes there were that have always resonated with me. Their love was an obvious one. Cliffs, and the tale of Orpheus were less obvious, and thus striking from a blind angle. As was Sophie’s story. I could hardly look... until we were told to look. A very subtle mechanic, telling us to properly look, but it worked.
What can I say. There were so many moments. The camera, catching absolutely beautiful frames. As a photographer, I wanted to freeze the film so many times, take shots, but being in a theatre I couldn’t, and instead froze them in my mind as much as I could. Her gazing back from behind the shawl, at the beach. Her, regarding her as she wakes in the morning. The wilting flowers.
As a side note, the moment the women started singing, I was startled. I had not noticed any score before this moment so I suspected it must be voices, but it was so otherworldly at first I did not recognise them as such. Goosebumps.
Thank you for making this film.
Although I hurt, now, noticeably. Thank you.
Extremely hyped film that didn't speak to me the way it did others.
A masterful tragedy, one that I feel will be remembered for years to come.
The added layers of analogy, metaphor and symbolism really are the icing on an already impressive cake.
I'll be thinking about the poets and lovers choice for many weeks to come.
"Turn Around"
Wow! What an exquisitely beautiful film! The writing and direction are superb and it is more than worthy of all its nominations and awards. Much of the narrative is told in silence but the energy never lags and often soars. Fabulous performances where volumes are told in a glance. A visceral blend of location, painting, poetry and music. The final scene is pure artistry. Fantastic! I give this film a 10 (perfection) out of 10. [Period Romance]
Just sublime. The appraising looks early on, with Heloise obscured by Marianne's head, so we can only see the turn of them both, unable to see the fullness of their gazes. Much like the second guessing they have in that moment, the feeling out of something new. The longing glances at lips, fingers, eyes. The scene where they rattle off each other's tics. The allusions to Orpheus and Eurydice. The color coding. All performed and composed with exquisite execution. This movie simmers and shines.
First off, I hate romance movies. Why did I opt-in to watch this?
Also, I am a (mostly) straight man. To the movie.
You really need to be a patient person for this. Everything moves so slowly, and there are often long scenes without anything happening. I am not that emotional. It is pretty sensual though.
Bonus points if you are into art, music, history and culture, I suppose.
Rating: 7/10 - from someone who absolutely hates romance movies.
Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu is a simple story with more art than artifice. Like a painting with a modest subject, the image is 2-dimensional but the emotion that lies beneath runs deep.
The original title of the film is Portrait de la jeune fille en feu.
the more I think about Orpheus and Eurydice the more I get devastated...
I watched both this movie and Ammonite. The reason I got to know that this movie exists is because of the smug remarks left in the comments section of Ammonite. I enjoyed Ammonite very much. After reading the comments here, I added this movie to my watch list for the weekend.
As far as pretentious, smug, pseudo-intellectual, internet group-think goes, this movie takes the cake. I found nothing special about this movie, especially compared to Ammonite. I didn't find either of the characters in this movie interesting. The story was moving painfully slow to the point I lost interest within the first hour. There was still 1 more hour to go. What a waste of time.
I cried at the last scene :pleading_face::heart::heart::heart:
edit: sth when im upset im opening the last scene like right now...
Me, singing total eclipse of the heart by bonnie tyler during the last 5 minutes of the movie
Wow.
In the first 10 minutes of the film I was surrendered.
Incredible photography and sound. Story very well told. One of the best things about the movie is the details. It's a love story.
"When do we know it's over? When, at a certain moment, we stop. "
Its a ***king Masterpiece.
2.9 points -> Cinematography (0-3)
1.9 points -> Acting and Characters (0-2)
2.7 points -> Plot (0-3)
1.0 points -> Score (0-1)
1.0 -> enjoyed the movie. (0-1)
Aka. 9.5 points (its a masterpiece, and my ratting doesnt show that)
"The year's most affecting love story."
Sorry I fell asleep after an hour...
A stunning movie. The cinematography is incredible. You study Héloïse just as the artist does and are slowly drawn into their gravity.
The ending hit me out of nowhere, verily a masterpiece
In short, the girlies are having girls night.
In long, it's a beautiful movie indeed. First of all, the color grading is on point. Really standardizes the colors to feel like an aged painting. The cinematography as well, especially when the shot is surveying a perspective or tracking a subject. Additionally, casting for Marianne was really good. Her naturally expressive eyes and sharp brows make for a mirror in which we can see how she's reacting to Heloise throughout the film. It's a strong point.
The one thing, maybe not purpose, was that this film was quite humorous. The focus shifting, the framing, and the expressions often were comedic in timing or placement. Partly because I know that these are two lesbian lovers trying to assess the situation and are both failing to recognize each other's yearning, but also partly because it was a cinematic choice. Other than that, apart from the midpoint and when the two realize their affection, the film is rather plain. It's very reliant on gazes and un-often phrases uttered into the air. I felt like it was rather empty or shallow. The ending is truly the deepest part of the film.
I watched this movie over two months ago and I have been still trying to emotionally recover from it
For the most part this is just a beautiful but very obvious movie about two women falling in love.
The extra touch in quality is reserved for the last ten minutes when all the previous details come together for a final long emotional rollercoaster ride. And it is done in a manner that anyone can recognize and appreciate, which is a great quality all by itself.
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is an austere but elegantly staged period drama with gorgeous cinematography and compelling performances. Sure it’s an explicit feminist manifesto and yet one more film on the LGBTQ struggle, but for once we have something of artistic relevance that does not need to rely on the sympathy-inducing factors of its subject matter. It’s a poetically beautiful piece about forbidden love regardless of gender and sexuality.
The script is a little stereotyped and lacking in character complexity, but I appreciated its sobriety nevertheless. It’s a film full of intellectual showing off and arthouse aspirations, but never to the point it talks down to its audience or becomes obnoxious.
Female gender history in this film.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2019-11-12T01:20:26Z
"Not everything is fleeting."
Indescribably beautiful in every way. Sciamma knows exactly when to linger and exactly when to let go. This is a film that is in complete control. It doesn’t just depict the longing, the love, the heartbreak; it gives the audience permission to experience these feelings with the film. It allows us into these moments in such delicate and masterful ways, that we are swept up into the romance along with Marianne and Héloïse.
Its interesting how many shots in this movie could exist in the latest artsy horror film released by A24. But in the context of this film, they don’t horrify the audience; they haunt us. They haunt us both despite and because of their beauty. They haunt us in the same way as Orpheus’ last goodbye to Eurydice.
"Turn around."