Mathon and Sciamma made pre-production trips to galleries to study portraits by female painters of the era. Not only did the lighting setup consume a chunk of the production budget, it also cost time. It was a bold move for the low-budget film. The solution: Build an enormous platform, and light it from outside the windows. The large main room - the workshop/bedroom where the portrait is painted and the love affair unfolds - was more than 25 feet above a courtyard on one side, and more than 50 feet above a moat on the other. Further complicating matters: Her grips were extremely limited in where they could hang lights and flags because the deserted castle was a historical monument. However, Mathon would need a great deal of light. The volume, the colors, the existing materials and the purity of the decor - it was exactly the aim of the film.” We a complicated set, but it was so exciting, inspiring. “Céline wanted to do mostly longer shots. “There were so many discussions about the choice of the set,” said Mathon. It goes all the way into their grammar.‘Poor Things’ Only Needed 4 Lenses to Achieve Its Distinct Look Claire Mathon on the set of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” NEON But French speakers in the audience now know the true depth of their intimacy. And for this single, shining moment, for just a breath, they are intimates and equals, and they know each other in a way that no one else ever will.Īnd then Marianne leaves, and Héloïse never sees her again. Marianne turns around and looks at Héloïse. She’s saying, “Turn around” - and she’s saying it in the informal mode. And Héloïse, in her wedding gown, comes flying down the stairs after her. Then Marianne runs out of the house in tears. They continue to use vous all the way up until their very last second together. They use it during what they know will be their last night together, as they admonish one another to stay awake and recount which moments from their brief, bittersweet romance they will carry with them after they part. They continue to use it after they declare their love for one another. But in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, it takes a very long time for that transition ever to come.Īfter they sleep together, Marianne and Héloïse continue to use the word vous to address one another. In French, to transition between calling someone vous and calling them tu - moving from a position of formality to a position of intimacy - is called tutoyer. English, too, used to have a similar split: Until about the 17th century, English speakers used you to indicate formality and thou to indicate intimacy. The equivalent in Spanish would be the formal usted versus the informal tú. It’s not the word you use when addressing intimate relations like family members, who rate the informal pronoun tu. It means you, but it’s a formal version of you, with a sir or a madam invisibly appended. But all the time, there remains a certain precise and minimal distance between them, and that distance is all wound up in the French word vous. Attraction must inevitably follow.īefore too long, Marianne and Héloïse are in love, and then in bed together. And in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Marianne has no choice but to watch Héloïse with enormous intensity. In film, we dramatize attraction through the intensity of the lover’s gaze ( remember this viral twitter thread about The Look?). But since Héloïse refuses to sit for the portrait, Marianne employs a subterfuge: She tells Héloïse that she is there only to be her walking companion.ĭuring the day, Marianne attempts to memorize Héloïse’s features as they take walks along a windy beach. Marianne is an artist who has been hired to paint Héloïse’s portrait as a gift for Héloïse’s would-be suitor. Héloïse is an aristocrat whose mother is trying to marry her off to a stranger in Milan. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the story of two young women in 18th century France. But once you know it’s there, it will break your heart. It’s also currently streaming on Hulu, so you can watch its tale of forbidden, 18th century French lesbian love while continuing to responsibly social distance yourself from others.Īnd should you choose to do so, there is one tiny, devastating detail in Portrait of a Lady on Fire that is easy to miss, especially if you don’t speak French. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the year’s most beautiful and romantic films.
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