Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019) revolves around a refusal of a woman to be looked at. Héloïse (Adèle Haenel) will not sit for her own portrait, because she knows that portrait is the means to take her into an unwanted marriage with an unknown man. It’s the 18th century, though, and as an aristocratic woman Héloïse has little choice in whether or who she will marry.
Through its layered exploration of the act of looking, Portrait of a Lady on Fire also uncovers the range of choices available to 18th century, white, European women and the social limitations imposed upon them.
Sciamma and her collaborators have constructed a rich masterpiece, and there’s much that could be said about its sound design, acting, and painterly cinematography. But in this video, I wanted to focus on the look and some of the ways it’s elaborated within the film.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yj7xVxK1MwE
IU Cinema screened Portrait of a Lady on Fire in November 2019 as part of the International Arthouse Series.
The International Arthouse Series currently features Another Round (available until Dec. 18) and the seven-film retrospective World of Wong Kar Wai (available until Jan. 20), with a percentage of the rental proceeds going directly to the IU Cinema.
Laura Ivins loves stop motion, home movies, imperfect films, nature hikes, and Stephen Crane’s poetry. She has a PhD from Indiana University and an MFA from Boston University. In addition to watching and writing about movies, sometimes she also makes them.