This is a quantum creative leap for Sciamma, herself a keen observer of behavior. (Her previous films, like Tomboy and Girlhood, were rich with character detail.) Time traveling to an old world seems to unlock the full scope of her passion and insight.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire(Portrait de la jeune fille en feu)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France · 2019
Rated R · 1h 59m
Director Céline Sciamma
Starring Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami, Valeria Golino
Genre Drama, History, Romance
Add to Watchlist
Please login to add films to your watchlist.
On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the 18th century, Marianne, a painter, is commissioned to do the wedding portrait of Héloïse, a young woman who has just left the convent. Héloïse is a reluctant bride-to-be and Marianne must paint her without her knowing.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
Visually ravishing ... [A] piercingly intelligent treatise on art, agency and queer love in the 18th century.
Sciamma ... has a magnificent capability for elegant prose that wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic novel, the kind of dialogue that simmers long after it is spoken.
Razor-sharp and shatteringly romantic ... as perfect a film as any to have premiered this year.
Not since Jane Campion’s The Piano has a costume drama presented such a gorgeous view of love from a woman’s point of view.
The Hollywood Reporter by Leslie Felperin
Assaying [Sciamma's] first period film, an exquisitely executed love story that's both formally adventurous and emotionally devastating, she sticks the landing like a UCLA gymnast in peak condition. It's so good you'll want to watch again in slow-motion immediately afterwards just to see how she does it.
The Guardian by Peter Bradshaw
A superbly elegant, enigmatic drama ... I was on the edge of my seat.
Though this gorgeous, slow-burn lesbian romance works strongly enough on a surface level, one can hardly ignore the fact, as true then as it is now, that the world looks different when seen through a woman’s eyes.
Sciamma’s splendid, multi-layered conceit manages to carry equal weight as a love story and a manifesto of sorts for feminine art.
Arthouse audiences will be intrigued to discover how Sciamma has channelled the fluid energy of her contemporary work into the more constrained environment of a costume drama. It won’t hurt that this is a strikingly handsome production which will be admired on a technical level.
Users who liked this film also liked
Water Lilies
(Naissance des pieuvres)
Marie joins the local pool’s synchronized swim team for a chance to get close to Floriane—the “bad girl” of the team.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2007
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Pauline Acquart, Adèle Haenel, Louise Blachère, Warren Jacquin, Christel Baras, Marie Gili-Pierre
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
House
(ハウス)
A group of Japanese schoolgirls discover there is more to their vacation house than meets the eye.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1977
- Director Nobuhiko Ōbayashi
- Cast Kimiko Ikegami, Miki Jinbo, Ai Matsubara, Mieko Satoh
- Genre Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Where Is the Friend's House?
(خانهی دوست کجاست؟)
After accidentally taking his friend's notebook, an 8-year-old boy sets out to return it.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Iran • 1987
- Director Abbas Kiarostami
- Cast Babek Ahmed Poor, Ahmed Ahmed Poor, Kheda Barech Defai, Iran Outari, Ait Ansari, Sadika Taohidi
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Tomboy
When a young girl moves to a new neighborhood with her family, she assumes a new identity as a boy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2011
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Zoé Héran, Malonn Lévana, Jeanne Disson, Sophie Cattani, Mathieu Demy, Rayan Boubekri
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Microsoft Store
Girlhood
(Bande de filles)
A girl with few real prospects joins a gang, reinventing herself and gaining a sense of self confidence in the process.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2014
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Rabah Nait Oufella
- Genre Drama
- Available on Strand Releasing Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
My Days of Mercy
The heart takes no sides
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2018
- Director Tali Shalom-Ezer
- Cast Elliot Page, Kate Mara, Amy Seimetz, Charlie Shotwell, Elias Koteas, Tonya Pinkins
- Genre Romance, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Tubi TV, Pluto TV, Freevee
Teen Spirit
A shy teenager dreaming of pop stardom enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, United States • 2019
- Director Max Minghella
- Cast Elle Fanning, Zlatko Burić, Rebecca Hall, Agnieszka Grochowska, Millie Brady, Archie Madekwe
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Hoopla
Matthias & Maxime
Two men confront their sexuality after being asked to kiss on camera for a school project.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada • 2019
- Director Xavier Dolan
- Cast Gabriel D'Almeida Freitas, Xavier Dolan, Pier-Luc Funk, Samuel Gauthier, Antoine Pilon, Adib Alkhalidey
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Sorry We Missed You
A struggling family turns to gig work, which quickly creates more problems than solutions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, France, Belgium • 2019
- Director Ken Loach
- Cast Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone, Katie Proctor, Ross Brewster, Charlie Richmond
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kino Film Collection, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
The Nest
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Canada • 2020
- Director Sean Durkin
- Cast Jude Law, Carrie Coon, Oona Roche, Charlie Shotwell, Tanya Allen, Tattiawna Jones
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Netflix basic with Ads, IFC Films Unlimited Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube
Ammonite
A paleontologist and a married young woman become involved in an intense affair in 1840s England.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Australia, United States • 2020
- Director Francis Lee
- Cast Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle, Alec Secăreanu, Fiona Shaw
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Eventive, Kanopy
For Sama
Director Waad Al-Kateab captures the bombing of Aleppo as she and her husband lived it.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Syria, United States • 2019
- Director Edward Watts
- Cast Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Waad al-Kateab
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Deerskin
(Le Daim)
A midlife crisis represented by a deerskin jacket.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Quentin Dupieux
- Cast Jean Dujardin, Adèle Haenel, Albert Delpy, Coralie Russier, Pierre Gommé, Laurent Nicolas
- Genre Comedy, Horror
- Available on MUBI, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Les Misérables
A policeman discovers how deep tensions run among gangs in the Parisian suburbs.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Ladj Ly
- Cast Damien Bonnard, Alexis Manenti, Djibril Zonga, Steve Tientcheu, Jeanne Balibar
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Freevee
Papicha
Even war can't stop fashion.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2019
- Director Mounia Meddour Gens
- Cast Marwan Zeghbib, Lyna Khoudri, Yasin Houicha, Nadia Kaci, Shirine Boutella, Amira Hilda Douaouda
- Genre Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, OVID, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, VUDU Free, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
The Half of It
An introverted straight-A student finds herself helping the school jock woo the girl they both secretly love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States • 2020
- Director Alice Wu
- Cast Leah Lewis, Daniel Diemer, Alexxis Lemire, Becky Ann Baker, Catherine Curtin, Wolfgang Novogratz
- Genre Drama, Family, Romance
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Petite Maman
(Petite maman)
A young girl ventures into the woods around her grandmother's house and forms a friendship with a lonely local girl.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France • 2021
- Director Céline Sciamma
- Cast Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne, Margot Abascal
- Genre Drama, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand, Kanopy
This film wasted no words, most of the emotionally significant moments being in stares, action, music, and (of course) art. While I’ve never been especially interested in period pieces, it was so refreshing to watch because of its focus on women and their relationships with one another.
A really lovely look at the relationship between two women, the liberation they found through each other, and the restrictions they had to face apart. The beautiful cinematography along with the engaging acting make this a really wonderful and touching viewing experience.
A beautiful romance told subtly and tenderly. This period piece owes its effectiveness to the centering of the female gaze - of the woman staring back at us as we stare at her. Celine Sciamma portrays her female characters with the kind of fierceness and power that is refreshing to see on the big screen.