Saturday, August 24, 2019

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE - MIFF 2019


The final day of this year's MIFF was a difficult one for me; in fact if I am being totally honest, I didn't enjoy it at all. Sleep deprived, and just flat out exhausted, I struggled the entire day. It was a day where I watched four films, all of them back to back, and due to my exhaustion, I found it very hard to concentrate fully on the films that I was watching. However, even in the state I found myself in on day 17 of this film festival, I knew that I had witnessed something special in my third film. The film was Celine Sciamma's “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, and it was an exquisite piece of art.

Set on an isolated island in France during the eighteenth century, a young painter, Marianne, is commissioned to do a wedding portrait of Heloise. The catch is that she must do so without her knowledge, as Heloise is totally against the wedding arranged for her, and thus refuses to sit and pose for such a painting. The story behind the wedding is more tragic than initially thought, as Heloise's sister was originally meant to be the man's bride, but preferred to take her own life instead of being forced into marriage. Heloise herself was studying to be a nun, but upon her sister's death, she was removed from the convent to take her sister's place. As the sister took her own life by throwing herself over a nearby cliff, Heloise's mother comes up with a plan to disguise Marianne as a walking partner for the young woman; giving her a chance to be outdoors while giving her mother the piece of mind that she also will not be able to take her own life, as she will have someone looking out for her on their walks. However the true purpose of these day walks is for Marianne to closely study and examine Heloise's features, so when she returns to the house at night, she can paint the portrait from memory. Initially, these walks are almost in silence, but the women continually get closer as time progresses.

Immediately before this film, I was in a screening of Andrzej Wajda's 1977 film “Man of Marble”, which is a two and a half hour film, that is dense of historical Polish politics, and was something that I really struggled with. I felt totally burnt out, and then as the credits started rolling, I had to bolt from that cinema and straight into my screening of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” which was due to start in around two minutes later. Being a sold out session, the cinema was packed, and I had to sit in the very front row, to the left of the screen. It was the most terrible spot to watch a film, and yet even from this vantage point and feeling burnt out to the extreme, I was still totally blown away by how great “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” was. Right from the opening frame, I was totally entranced, and my attention never wavered from the screen until the film finished some two hours later (which flew by too).

This is one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking romances I have ever seen in cinema. The first half is just sublime, with the two girls sharing time together but barely saying a word to one another. Everything is done in looks and observations. The subjective point of view shots are so perfect as the camera lingers over Heloise's facial features, her neck, her ears, and her hair. While initially these looks are innocent in nature, they soon change to looks of desire, and suddenly the film becomes very sensual and incredibly erotic, even though very little skin or actual sex is shown on screen. The voyeuristic act of studying someone so intently, to paint their visage, turns to a different kind of look where the recipient of that look desires it to turn into touch. Once the girls love is consummated, it becomes a powerful force between them, even though their love affair takes place over only a few days. The brevity of the affair is complimented by its intensity. It is the kind of love that changes a person, and one that will never be forgotten.

Whilst the main story is about these two girls, Marianne and Heloise, there is also a third female character that is prominent as well, and that is Sophie, Heloise's maid. She is the centre of a subplot to do with an unplanned pregnancy that shows a bond between the women, despite different levels of class. Her inclusion adds another extra layer to an already magnificent film. What is interesting about this film is that it is a romance from a female point of view. Most movie romances are shown via the male gaze but here it is the female gaze and it is a completely different feel. Men express love more in terms of sexuality, whereas women do so in terms of sensuality. The distinction isn't massive but it certainly changes the romantic dynamics which is why this film stands out so much. Even though all the characters in “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” are women, so too the writer/director, this isn't some on the nose feminist take on the story, rather it is a subtle but very human and truthful depiction of love from a woman's perspective.

I loved the performances by the two girls in the leads, as initially they start out very cold and separate from one another, but as the romance heats up, the actors begin to feed off one another to become one. Adele Haenel plays Heloise and at the beginning of the film she is totally detached and wary of Marianne. She borders on emotionless as she never smiles, but her eyes betray her sadness at being forced into a marriage she wants no part of. However, the performance changes as the girl's relationship does, and soon Haenel is very expressive with a beaming smile. Her outlook on the world has totally changed now with love in her heart. Noemie Merlant is excellent in the role of Marianne, and her performance is quite different from Haenel's. With Merlant's character being a painter, she appears more detail orientated. There is also a coldness too from her at the beginning, but due to the seriousness in how she takes her job as an artist. She is focused more on the surface details, but again, this begins to change as the story goes on, and she begins to let her emotions take hold and pour out of her when she starts to fall in love. Again, this creates a warmth in Marianne unseen prior.

Normally in my reviews, I always mention the visual style of a film because it is the element I respond to the most, and I must say that “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is stunning to look at; it is truly a feast for the eyes. Cinematographer Claire Mathon does an amazing job of shooting the film using soft light that gives the film the look of a painting itself. Each character appears to be colour coded too with Marianne dressed in red and Heloise in green, which is a nice visual touch. However, while I could tell the film was beautifully shot, this was one aspect of the film where my seating in the cinema hampered me, as I really struggled with depth within a shot, so I actually believe the film is even more beautiful than I can report. Needless to say, the costumes all look amazing, and I loved the scene with the girls on the beach wearing scarves over their mouths due to the wild winds; its a stunning image.

Speaking of brilliant scenes, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” has one of the most sublime scenes ever in it, when the three women head to the beach at night. Around a camp fire, a large group of women start singing a piece of classical music via acapella and it makes the hair on your neck stand tall. It starts with hums and clapping and before long the music is in full effect and......WOW!! The whole scene is also so emotional too; you cannot help but be moved by it all. This scene also then relates to the film's finale, which I have to say is just perfect; it is devastating, heart wrenching and packed to the gills with emotion, but it is perfect none the less. I think it is probably the best ending to a film since Christian Petzold's “Phoenix” from 2014. Another thing I really want to mention before wrapping this review up is that I also loved the way writer/director Celine Sciamma layered the Orpheus myth into the narrative with devastating effect. It adds a layer of poetry to this already brilliant film.

Overall, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is a stunning piece of cinema and one that I cannot recommend enough. I actually had a lot more I wanted to say about the film but decided to stop now and let everyone just experience this masterpiece for themselves. It was just announced as the winner of the audience award at this year's MIFF, and it did not surprise me at all. You could feel while in the cinema that everyone knew they were watching something special in that moment, and the first thing I heard from behind me when the credits began was a “wow” before the clapping started. The most amazing thing about it is that I watched this film in the worst spot possible, so there is a chance that on re-watch, my rating may go even higher. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” is exquisite and a film you do not want to miss. It is intelligent, beautifully crafted, emotion packed, and absolutely devastating, but it is also sublime. DO NOT MISS IT!


4.5 Stars


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