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Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Drama · Romance · 2019

On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

Movie details

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

“Don't regret. Remember.”

2019 Drama · Romance 2h 1m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

8.1 / 10

Community rating

On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Portrait of a Lady on Fire?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

We Won't Grow Old Together

We Won't Grow Old Together

Romance · 1972

Jean, a married 40-year-old filmmaker, and his young working class lover, Catherine, engage in a circular series of spectacular blow-ups and tentative reunions, their mutual desire a fire that burns them again and again.

Interiors

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When Eve, an interior designer, is deserted by her husband of many years, Arthur, the emotionally glacial relationships of the three grown-up daughters are laid bare. Twisted by jealousy, insecurity and resentment, Renata, a successful writer; Joey, a woman crippled by indecision; and Flyn, a budding actress; struggle to communicate for the sake of their shattered mother. But when their father unexpectedly falls for another woman, his decision to remarry sets in motion a terrible twist of fate…

Maudie

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Purple Hearts

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An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.

Private Fears in Public Places

Private Fears in Public Places

Drama · 2006

Seven lonely lives in Paris: a middle-aged estate agent who believes a colleague is sending messages in video tapes she loans him; his co-worker whose Bible is close at hand in times of stress; her late-night charge, an angry, nasty bedridden old man; his son, a patient bartender; the bartender's best patron, an ex-soldier who's lost his moorings while his fiancée looks for a large flat for them; and, the estate agent's much younger sister, who answers personals and waits in cafés with a red flower pinned on her jacket. Will any connect? Can open hearts trump fears?

The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince

Drama · 2018

In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.

Leave Her to Heaven

Leave Her to Heaven

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A socialite marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her.

At Eternity's Gate

At Eternity's Gate

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Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.

Luna

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Drama · 2018

A film in which the director captures the beautiful and accurate qualities of reality when building the energetic portrait of a 16-year-old girl immersed in the macho culture of urban suburban south-west France, just a stone’s throw away from the nearby countryside.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Céline Sciamma

Written by

Céline Sciamma

Noémie Merlant

Noémie Merlant

Marianne

Adèle Haenel

Adèle Haenel

Héloïse

Luàna Bajrami

Luàna Bajrami

Sophie

Valeria Golino

Valeria Golino

La Comtesse

Christel Baras

Christel Baras

La faiseuse d'ange

Armande Boulanger

Armande Boulanger

L'élève atelier

Guy Delamarche

Guy Delamarche

L'homme salon

Court is in session

Put Portrait of a Lady on Fire on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.