Feb. 20: Portrait de la jeune fille en feu / Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Posted on Posted in Screenings

Thursday, February 20, 2020
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Céline Sciamma
France 2019
French; 119 minutes
Rated: R for some nudity and sexuality

In 18th-century Brittany, Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is
commissioned to paint a por­trait of a reclusive young woman,
Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), who is soon to be married. Héloïse is not
to know of the painting, so Marianne closely observes her model
by day in order to paint her likeness at night. Day by day, the two women become closer as they share Héloïse’s last moments of
freedom before her impending wedding. Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay Awards at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival,
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is an exquisite portrait of art, eros, and
the gaze.

It is so very easy to label a film incendiary, but Portrait of a Lady on Fire deserves the scalding honour. It will ignite every flame you might have. Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail

In a film told with sweeping visual scope, Sciamma plunges the viewer into a story and setting of the deepest intimacy.
David Sims, The Atlantic

It’s a great example of how a well-told story, with vivid characters, can seep right into your bones and keep you thinking for days afterward — and the pleasure felt while watching it isn’t negligible either.
Stephanie Zacharek, Time Magazine