Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 6, 2020

Here's a little quiz for those of you who consider yourselves art buffs: name an 18th century painter. Art historians or some folks with at least a bit of an inkling of the history of painting might be able to immediately name icons like John James Audubon, Francisco Goya or William Blake, while some others of us (ahem) might need a search engine or two to come up with some reasonable answers. Now, here's a real challenge: name a female painter from that same general era. I'm kind of thrilled to state that my own search engine quest came up with a woman named Angelica Kauffmann, who, despite spelling her surname incorrectly (that's a joke, folks), evidently was quite celebrated (for a woman painter, anyway) in her time. Portrait of a Lady on Fire does in fact deal with a late 18th century female portrait painter named Marianne (Noémie Merlant), who is teaching a class of young female painters as the film opens. One of Marianne's students has brought out a painting from storage which turns out to be a piece by Marianne, which causes Marianne some discomfort. The striking piece (seen in screenshot 5) is entitled "Portrait of a Lady on Fire", and most of the rest of the film is an extended flashback providing context for the arresting imagery.

In what might be called the difference between Art History and the history of art, Portrait of a Lady on Fire offers some insight into a societal norm of days of yore which many have probably forgotten about, if they ever knew about it to begin with: well to do families, who often “arranged” marriages for their children, would submit paintings of their female child to a prospective fiancé for him to peruse and then either accept or decline the arrangement. That is the underlying plot element at play in the film, as Marianne arrives at the palatial estate of the Countess (Valeria Golino), who has hired Marianne to paint her daughter Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), so that the painting can be forwarded to a prospective suitor in Milan. Complicating matters is the fact that Héloïse has refused to pose for a previous portrait artist, since she doesn’t want to be married. That has necessitated some subterfuge on the part of the Countess, who has told Héloïse that Marianne is there simply to be a companion for Héloïse.

What ensues is a rather interesting character study within the context of 18th century strictures placed upon women. Marianne is the daughter of a famous artist but has not received much recognition herself. Héloïse has been called back from a convent where she had taken vows after a family tragedy, and now finds herself about to be consigned into a forced marriage. A servant girl at the mansion named Sophie (Luàna Bajrami) also has some issues that play into the plot. Even the Countess has not always had an easy time of it, suggesting that "class" alone wasn't enough to prevent trauma.

Without spoiling some of the at times slightly soap operatic drama, suffice it to say that artist and subject begin to grow closer to each other, leading to some fairly overt Sapphic content which may strike some as a little strange (are armpits an erogenous zone?). The film has a palpable mood, and it is buoyed by consistently compelling performances on the part of Haenel and Merlant. Evocative scenery and an impressively handsome production design also help to elevate the film, but it's the roiling emotional content that ultimately gives a definite spark to Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. In lieu of an insert booklet, Criterion has provided an accordion style fold out insert that contains the following information on the transfer:

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Black bars at the top an dbottom of the screen are normal for this format. This new digital master was created in 4K resolution. This film was completed in a fully digital workflow and features a fully digital soundtrack. The 5.1 surround soundtrack was remastered from the original digital audio files using Avid's Pro Tools.

Captured with RED cameras at source resolutions of up to 7K (according to the IMDb), this is an often stunning looking presentation that makes great use of some awesome scenery in and around Saint-Pierre Quiberon, Morbihan, France (again according to the IMDb). Some of the cliffside and seaside material is beautifully detailed and offers an abundantly suffused palette with excellent depth of field. Interior material can be considerably dimmer, but often has a gorgeously burnished appearance. Fine detail on things like the crosshatched fabrics that several of the female characters wear is typically precise looking. There's a somewhat cool, bluish undertone to a lot of the proceedings, coupled with an emphasis on some more buttery yellow tones in some candlelit inside sequences, but detail levels rarely falter.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire features a nicely immersive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original French. Scenes like Marianne's arrival at the estate courtesy of a rowboat offer great placement of sometimes rather boisterous ambient environmental sounds, and even some of the quieter moments in the mansion offer good discrete channelization of sounds like servants walking through echo laden hallways. Wind and water noises are quite prevalent and pan through the soundstage appealingly. The only slight qualm I had was with regard to the really hot mix of Vivaldi's Four Seasons which overpowers the track on occasion. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Céline Sciamma (1080p; 31:34) is interviewed by Dana Stevens. There's some background offered, including some brief looks at soe of Sciamma's previous films, before they get into a more specific discussion about Portrait of a Lady on Fire.


• Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant (1080p; 17:27) are interviewed separately in this well edited piece that kind of contrasts comments by the two. In French with English subtitles.


• Cinematography (1080p; 18:06) features Director of Photography Claire Mathon, from an interview conuducted at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. Mathon spends a lot of time talking about light and the colors on faces she wanted to capture. In French with English subtitles.


• Paintings (1080p; 11:54) features Hélène Delmaire, who did the paintings for the film. In French with English subtitles.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As is mentioned in the interview with Céline Sciamma included as a supplement on this disc, this is Sciamma's first historical film, after several contemporary outings that traced adolescents in transition. Sciamma is on record as stating she wanted to bring a contemporary flair to this film as well, and it is certainly forward thinking in how its offers its depictions of women struggling to unfetter themselves from the oppressive norms of the era. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is subtly political in a way, but it's also surprisingly personal. Technical merits are first rate, and the supplementary package very enjoyable. Recommended.