Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

    "Not everything is fleeting. Some feelings are deep."
This film's breathtakingly beautiful visual language is the most captivating and emotional presence of 2019's filmography. Film lovers were overly spoiled last year (I'm writing this in 2020). Heloise is arranged to be wed but refuses to have her wedding portrait done. She's a free spirit in a time when family duty held significantly more weight then personal choice. Making this a time-piece of sorts. The real importance starts as Heloise develops an affection for her painter Marianne, who is living the free life Heloise desires. Their desire is overwhelmingly raw and intoxicating. Director Celine Sciamma captures this relationship without any filter allowing the audience to be encapsulated in this bittersweet forbidden love. Beautiful love in a time before love was invented. An experience fueled by powerful performances and a keen eye for the poetic.

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