PROVOKR PICK: PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
Céline Sciamma's Women in Love
In Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of A Lady on Fire an artist, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), is hired to paint a portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). It’s set in late-eighteenth century France and the picture will be used for a marriage proposal. However, Héloïse does not want to get married and refuses to sit for it. Marianne disguises herself as a lady’s maid to get close to Héloïse so she can paint the portrait in secret. As the two women grow closer, they fall in love and Marianne, uncomfortable keeping up the ruse, reveals her intentions to Héloïse.
We’ve already written about this movie, but it’s now coming out in the US, and we at PROVOKR couldn’t be more excited. Everything about this movie looks amazing! From its lush cinematography to strong lead actors, this film seems like a sure success. And judges at Cannes certainly seemed to agree. It awarded Portrait of A Lady on Fire the Queer Palm, making it the first movie directed by a woman to receive the prestigious award. Sciamma also won best screenplay at the film festival.
Reviewers agree, the film currently holds a 98% certified fresh rating on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes.
See Portrait of A Lady on Fire, in theaters, starting December 6, 2019.
