You ever find yourself staring at a bonfire? Just zoning out and watching the flame change every second, feeling the heat, the energy, the anger, the tension, you get what I’m saying. It’s a beautifully hypnotic thing, and that’s exactly what Portrait of a Lady on Fire is. The only difference being that this brought me to tears in ways a bonfire never could.

No spoilers but I didn’t breathe for the last few minutes of this movie

“do all lovers feel they’re inventing something?”

the clandestine stealing of forbidden glances. the thankless task of trying to tamp a lover’s image into the folds of your brain. the dread of said image’s inevitable fading. the smoldering slow-burn of impossible yearning, and the explosive fireworks when it’s finally reciprocated. the sizzling sound of a final farewell.

director céline sciamma packs each frame with tangible emotion, and she does it all without a manipulative score. we know exactly what to feel at all times, purely on the merit of the leads’ magnetic performances and claire mathon’s luscious cinematography. music is only utilized sparsely (through vivaldi, and through a choral latin chant), and it’s all diegetic, which preserves the film’s veracity. the perfect song seldom plays during our most formative moments, and the perfect person seldom enters our lives at the right time. but sometimes, if we’re lucky enough, they can overlap.

its come to my attention that women are the only people who know how to make movies

Absolutely no men in sight. Just people vibing.

CIFF 2019: film #2

“he doesn’t make the lover’s choice, but the poet’s”

my body is still visibly shaken, and i cried the entire duration. i haven’t been this moved by a film in years. not only is it exquisitely made, but the emotional toll it took on me is almost damaging. yearning personified: seen through the stokes of a paintbrush, or across the flames of a fire. crushing and beautiful and fleeting. sometimes all that’s left is the memory, but the memory stays. that last shot is going to haunt me

they seem to be very good friends

hey girls! did you know that um. not everything is fleeting? some feelings are deep? I found the liberty you spoke of in solitude but I also felt your absence???

Portrait of a Lady on Fire? More like Portrait of me fucking crying.

“not everything is fleeting. some feelings are deep”

i finally figured it out. many times when i watch a new favorite film, it adds something to my life, a new, additional piece of me. with this, it calmly settles down in a special empty space in my heart, an emptiness that’s been eagerly waiting for it to come along. it makes me feel more complete. going forward, i’m thankful i get to carry this with me now. it fits so naturally that it feels like it’s always been there, and now it always will be

I’m, and I can’t stress this enough, yelling

catch me at the amc burbank 16 having a strong emotional reaction to a bunch of women suddenly singing the thx logo music

“Do all lovers feel like they’re inventing something?”

chocado o filme todo em como a protagonista parece a emma watson
PS.: VOCÊS TAMBÉM PERCEBERAM QUE AO INVÉS DE ESTRELINHA NESSE FILME É FOGUINHO PRA AVALIAR? Aaaaaa ahhahahahah

Amei como a história de Orfeu e Euridice me fez sofrer novamente, dessa vez embalado pelos belos takes e atuações desse filme.
Realmente uma obra de arte.

oh i am broken and yet whole

page 28

the ending!

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Me hizo sentir estupida.

Eu sinto que tem uma bola de canhão no meu peito, não consigo parar de chorar... esse filme é lindo de tantas formas, o silêncio dele fala mais que muitos diálogos. É sobre o amor.

Six stars. This film is just for me, no one else watch it.

maybe one day someone will make a lesbian romance film that is not entirely expected but let me tell you, this film may be an aesthetic french beauty but it for sure is not that film.

me hizo mierda

I would like to write a full term paper on the films relation to the myth of Orpheus and Romanticism, but I feel like that would be a disservice to it. Words have power to them (at least I think so), but they only get you part of the way with Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It’s a film built on experiencing. Built on listening to the crashing waves, feeling the warmth of a bonfire, and witnessing a love lost. To see and to be seen.

Telecine Play