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.
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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.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
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?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe 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.
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Maudie
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My First Time
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L'Amour fou
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A troubled marriage is tested by the couple's involvement in a theatrical production of Racine’s Andromaque.
The Happy Prince
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Leave Her to Heaven
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A socialite marries a prominent novelist, which spurs a violent, obsessive, and dangerous jealousy in her.
Mr. Turner
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Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.
At Eternity's Gate
Drama · 2018
Famed but tormented artist Vincent van Gogh spends his final years in Arles, France, painting masterworks of the natural world that surrounds him.
Goodbye First Love
Drama · 2011
A 15-year-old discovers the joys and heartaches of first love with an older teen, but in the ensuing years, cannot seem to move past their breakup.
Jane Eyre
Drama · 2011
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Céline Sciamma
Written by
Céline Sciamma
Noémie Merlant
Marianne
Adèle Haenel
Héloïse
Luàna Bajrami
Sophie
Valeria Golino
La Comtesse
Christel Baras
La faiseuse d'ange
Armande Boulanger
L'élève atelier
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 prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Importance has entered the chat.”
The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.