Reel Queer: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Directed by Céline Sciamma
Starring Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino

France in the late 18th century. Painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is commissioned by an affluent countess to paint the wedding portrait of her sheltered but headstrong daughter Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), in the hope it will find her a wealthy husband. While posing as her hired companion, Marianne is instructed to complete the portrait in secret, observing Héloïse by day and painting her by night. However, as the two women grow closer, their intimacy and attraction begins to blossom, paving the way for a simmering, star-crossed romance. A heart-breaking period piece told with a distinctly modern feminist energy, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the first female-directed film to win the Queer Palm at the Cannes Film Festival and cements Sciamma’s reputation as a world-class filmmaker.

Our Take:
Just seven short years from its release, Céline Sciamma’s masterpiece of haunting and indelible love has branded itself upon the cinematic consciousness. It is one of only four films from the 2010s to place in 2022’s Sight and Sound list, and ranked the highest of them, being crowned as the 30th greatest film ever made. Like ink on canvas, the film binds to the audience, colouring our perceptions with its tale of vivid memory, as painter Marianne recounts her brief time spent with the to-be-wed Héloïse on the shores of Brittany. More than a love story, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a film with a unique, sensual power; one which no viewer is soon to forget.