(Apr 24, 2022 ● Oslin Pierrette)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire was one of the most beautifully intimate films I’ve watched. Basically Marianne is hired to paint a picture of a lady named Héloïse. Only problem is, Marianne has to paint Héloïse, but can’t let her know she’s a painter. So she has to study Héloïse and paint her from memory.
So she tries to study her body and facial structure. Also understand some characteristics about her that would make the portrait make sense. She gets to know a few things, but nothing too deep. Héloïse is a bit reserved, not letting Marianne in much. So with all little she had, Marianne does her best to create her portrait. She tries to get her job done and slap together the best portrait she can, which obviously fails. The portrait was somewhat accurate, but it just didn’t feel like it resembled Héloïse, it wasn’t resonating. It felt like a surfaceable representation. But we don’t know who Héloïse is. The surface is all we really know.
Marianne seems to be building a bond with Héloïse now. Marianne tells Héloïse that she’s painting her. When you make a meaningful bond. You don’t want to have to lie to that person, vice versa. There is a formidable bond being made. So that means the curtain comes down.
This movie is about the growth of intimacy. Not just studying a person’s features to paint surfaceably what you see, but to bring life into it. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So getting to know that in a person allows you to bring more life into it, expressing what you see in them. You can see she is disappointed by the first painting. It lacked so much life, just a conventional painting. The way that she was seen was disheartening. Héloïse thought the way she felt about Marianne was shared, but the painting obviously illustrated otherwise. It was painted by a person that seemingly wasn’t stimulated.
This movie conveys the language of a growing intimacy. Growing vulnerability. That they both weren’t having contact with. Opening up, a comfortability with each other. Sparking feelings and life in each other. Exploring that…
Then it is revealed that. There is something there between them, actual feelings. They explored loving and sexual intimacy between them, drawing them even closer. Discovering love, expanding their perceptions. You see people differently when you love them. In a more intricate way. Noticing subtleties about them.
Now Marianne is painting with a more truthful brush, more expressive. Telling her truth in her art. You saw in that last painting that it was done with no meaningful care, just the fear of getting it done, do what you can. Which led to its blandness, it was just a painting that resembled nothing. Then the finished painting conveyed so much life, emotion, and beauty. Encapsulated everything about her so beautifully. It resembled her love for her. So instead of the fear of getting it done, because she has to, the beauty is roaring out of her now. She has the innate urge to express the feelings that are felt onto the canvas. When people feel overwhelming love and feelings, they typically have the intense urge to articulate and release those feelings that words sometimes can’t convey.
Also there’s this depiction of somewhat self love, but more of shared love and intimacy. A bridge of connection. When Marianne wanted to give Héloīse a parting gift. She sketches a beautiful landscape of herself. She doesn’t do it the way she sees herself, but from the beauty that Héloīse sees.
Then the way it was ending. How it was an all women movie. There’s talk of a fiancé that you never see. Even though you know it’s coming, you’re still living in the moment. Then boom, a man pops up. Destroying the love of those women, bursting the bubble. Strong way to emphasize that. Not introducing a man until you needed to.
The way they reintroduced the story of Eurydice. Where she can’t help but look at the death of her chance of love. She turns arounds, to see her one more time, as it was feared it was coming. Héloïse turned to see her one last time.
The 28 she left of her in the painting. Also how they illustrated a painting that someone who painted it wasn’t intimate with or loves her, wasn’t stimulated by her. Reintroducing that concept, making that journey come full circle.
Lastly, her love of music. The beauty she always wanted to witness, an orchestra. It’s hard to convey music or love, if you haven’t witnessed it. You see her witness one of the loves she always wanted to witness. The look of experienced beauty and joy, tearing down her face. By knowing her and her aspirations. There’s an intimacy to seeing her experience the orchestra.
I loved the visceral natural beauty and intimacy in this movie. So much passion conveyed through subtle shots. The language of intimacy was spoken fluently. Nice lustful and loving tones too. It was so poetic how they tied all their concepts of intimacy together. With a graceful pen like a ballet performance.
Great beautiful movie. I loved it.
An abortion next to an infant is wild though. Then to recreate that moment. Finding the beauty in it was weirdly nice.
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