I wanted to film desire and then the burst of love, and have the audience go through the same stages as the characters. But not like in conventional cinema where it’s love at first sight, and then the love story is all about conflict. That’s the way we’re told to tell stories: in writing classes, a good scene is about conflict. Roxborough, Scott (27 January 2020). "France's Lumiere Awards: 'Les Misérables' Wins Best Film, Roman Polanski Tapped as Best Director". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020 . Retrieved 28 January 2020. Just take a minute if you have it to imagine the world before television, films, automobiles, and phones. It must have been incredibly boring by you or I's standards, but if humans are exceedingly talented at anything it would be in finding ways to keep ourselves amused. We would probably play card games, make a hallucinogenic poultice, sing, master painting, or fall in love with a member of our own gender. Now just imagine if you were a woman, considered property or soon-to-be property, with absolutely no rights except those afforded by your social status. Imagine how boring life would be, subject to the whims and wills of men who live a city, a country, or a world away from you. Sounds like a decent starting point for a sensuous, existential narrative fiction analysis of the female psyche that transcends ideological bounds and probes the deepest recesses of emotion and aesthetics. Here Are All the Winners From the 2020 Critics' Choice Awards". Billboard. 12 January 2020. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020 . Retrieved 23 January 2020. There’s a flame – whether it’s physically there or you hear it – in almost every frame, except when they’re outside during the day. I thought it was so rich because it’s the fire between the two women. It’s the fire within them. It’s anger and it’s destruction.

Abraham, Raphael (13 February 2020). "Céline Sciamma on defying convention with the all-female Portrait of a Lady on Fire". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 15 February 2020. Portrait of a Lady on Fire". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019 . Retrieved 10 October 2021. At the end of the eighteenth century, Marianne, a painter, is teaching an art class in France. One of her female students asks her about a painting of hers, which Marianne calls Portrait de la jeune fille en feu. Lattanzio, Ryan (2 February 2020). "BAFTA Awards: '1917' Crowned Best Film (Full Winners List)". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 2 February 2020 . Retrieved 4 February 2020. Dalton, Ben (30 October 2019). " 'The Personal History Of David Copperfield', 'Wild Rose' head 2019 BIFA nominations". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019 . Retrieved 31 October 2019.After all, the best depictions of women’s bodies are not really about bodies at all, but the experiences and emotions attached to them. To put it another way, they paint women as they are: thinking humans who are as capable of scrutinising the world as the world is of scrutinising them. Portrait of a Lady on Fire’s Héloïse knows the score. “If you look at me, who do I look at?” she asks Marianne during a sitting, in a sly question that’s really more of a statement.

In Downton Abbey, when the sister died during child-birth, I was like, “Oh, this is great TV.” But no, I just think sometimes when you decide to go for a specific genre in cinema, it feels like you want to belong in a way. And I really don’t feel like that. There’s very little music in Portrait but when you do use it, it’s for very emotional and overwhelming moments. It reminds me of that sublime scene in your film Girlhood, when all the girls dance to Rihanna’s Diamonds. Goodfellow, Melanie (28 August 2018). "mk2 launches sales on Céline Sciamma's 'Portrait of A Lady On Fire', Porumboiu's 'The Passenger' (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019 . Retrieved 28 May 2019. D'Alessandro, Anthony (21 November 2019). "Spirit Award Nominations: A24 Leads For 4th Straight Year With 18 Noms As 'Uncut Gems' & 'The Lighthouse' Come Up Big". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 November 2019 . Retrieved 21 November 2019.Portrait of a Lady on Fire DVD". Blu-ray.com. 2020. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020 . Retrieved 26 May 2020. Clements, Sara (13 February 2020). " 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' Star Noémie Merlant Discusses #MeToo and Playing a Woman Outside the Patriarchy". Exclaim!. Neglia, Matt (8 December 2019). "The 2019 Women Film Critics Circle (WFCC) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020 . Retrieved 9 December 2019.