Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (2020)
95%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
59 wins & 157 nominations total
A singularly rich period piece, Portrait of a Lady on Fire finds stirring, thought-provoking drama within a powerfully acted romance.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is like a painting come to life, but with more lesbians. Seriously, every shot is so beautiful it could be hung up in a museum. And the chemistry between the two leads? *chef’s kiss* It’s a slow burn, but it’s worth it for that final shot of Haenel in profile. Plus, it’s refreshing to see a movie that explores the patriarchy without actually showing any men on screen. Overall, this movie is passionate, elegant, and elemental. Just don’t pay too much attention to the abortion subplot.
Production Company(ies)
Lilies Films, Arte France Cinéma Hold Up Films,
Distributor
Neon
Release Type
Streaming, Streaming (Hulu), Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Saint-Pierre Quiberon, Morbihan, France
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some nudity and sexuality
Year of Release
2020
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 1m
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Language(s):French, Italian
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Country of origin:France
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 2019 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 3, 2020
Genre(s)
Romance/LGBTQ+
Keyword(s)
Worldwide gross: $10,106,374
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,533,045
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,922
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,257,693
US/Canada gross: $3,759,854
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $4,290,615
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,845
US/Canada opening weekend: $67,344
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $76,851
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,045
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Adèle Haenel – Héloïse
Luàna Bajrami – Sophie
Valeria Golino – La Comtesse
Christel Baras – La faiseuse d’anges
Armande Boulanger – L’Élève
Director(s)
Céline Sciamma
Writer(s)
Céline Sciamma
Producer(s)
Bénédicte Couvreur, Véronique Cayla
Film Festivals
Cannes, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
59 wins & 157 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (328) | Top Critics (78) | Fresh (319) | Rotten (9)
Once in a while there is a work of art so specific, so complex, so new in its oldness and old in its newness, that it moves the craft, our craft, to another level of seeing.
September 10, 2021
Drew Gregory
Autostraddle
TOP CRITIC
There’s almost no single moment in Portrait of a Lady on Fire that couldn’t be captured, mounted, and hung on a wall as high art.
January 22, 2021 | Rating: A-
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
There are many great acting moments in this film, but you should especially savor the final shot, the long close-up of Haenel in profile. Put simply, it’s why we go to the movies.
January 22, 2021 | Rating: 4/4
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
…an exquisite love story.
May 18, 2020
Anupama Chopra
Film Companion
TOP CRITIC
Even without showing men onscreen, Sciamma depicts the myriad ways in which the patriarchy constricts the lives of her female protagonists.
March 6, 2020
Rachel Syme
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
It’s a slow burn, sure, but the embers are remarkable.
March 6, 2020
Cody Corrall
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Every shot feels as if it was painted on a canvas. Love and romance are not the same thing, and it is subtly shown in this movie that surrounds the lack of freedom there is in secrets. [Full review in Spanish]
June 23, 2022 | Rating: 8/10
Victor Pineyro
Seventh Art Studio
Portrait Of A Lady On Fire is passionate, elegant, and elemental.
May 20, 2022
Merryn Johns
Curve
An abortion subplot allows for a scene of artistically inspired exploitation that breaks the film.
April 25, 2022 | Rating: C-
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
It’s a film that acknowledges the limits of reality even as Sciamma finds overriding freedom in her characters yearnings, making, as one character observes, not the lover’s choice, but the poet’s in telling this story.
February 21, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
The plot reveals itself with an assured poetic tone that never falters. [Full review in Spanish]
December 8, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
William Venegas
La Nación (Costa Rica)
What works comes less from the script and more from the presence and power of the two beautiful protagonists. [Full Review in Spanish]
October 26, 2021 | Rating: 6/10
Fernando E. Juan Lima
EscribiendoCine…
Plot
In 1770, a French countess’s daughter develops a mutual attraction to the female artist commissioned to paint her wedding portrait in the stirring and powerfully acted romance, Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
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