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Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a 2019 French historical romantic drama film written and directed by Céline Sciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Set in France in the late 18th century, the film tells the story of a brief affair between two young women: an aristocrat and a painter commissioned to paint her portrait. It was Haenel's final film role before retiring from the film industry in 2023.
Directed by Céline Sciamma · Shot by Claire Mathon · Cut by Julien Lacheray · Music by Para One · Ratio 1.85:1 · 121 min
How it was made
- Painter Hélène Delmaire worked 16 hours a day throughout the 38-day shoot producing the on-screen paintings and sketches in real time, basing each canvas on the actors' blocking; her hands, not the actors', appear in the close-ups of painting in progress.
- Sciamma chose to score the film without a conventional soundtrack, using a single original song written for a cappella female choir and rhythmic clapping, deliberately favouring a modern sound inspired by Ligeti's Requiem despite research into period 18th-century music.
- The near-total absence of music elsewhere in the film was a deliberate choice so that the choir piece, arriving during the bonfire scene, would land with maximum force.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Céline Sciamma
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