Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (original title)
(France 2019)
It is refreshing to see a movie about women told from a woman's point of by … BY A WOMAN Director! ("Little Women" is next on my to-see list, Greta!).
I saw this French film in November 2019 but at the time I didn't give it as much credit as it deserves. The director (Céline Sciamma) guides the movie at her own pace, and trusts her actors with close-ups that reveal much more about their feelings than mere dialogue can (a lesson lost on most American movie directors).
And what faces she has to work with! As Marianne (the painter), Noemie Merlant is mesmerizing throughout. Her subject, played by Adele Haenel, is equally enthralling. The result is all the more remarkable because Sciamma makes no attempt to soften or glamourize the leads with lighting or make-up.
The nighttime scene in front of the bonfire that comes in the middle of the film reveals the film's message: the bond shared among women is deep, mysterious and timeless.
