History Film / PortraitOfALadyOnFire

* DidNotGetTheGirl: It's established from the very beginning that they don't end up together and that they only have a brief window of time together.

* FemaleGaze: The main motif of the movie is a woman observing a woman, and gradually falling in love in the process. Céline Sciamma has further acknowledge that the movie is all about FemaleGaze.

''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (French: ''Portrait de la jeune fille en feu'') is a 2019 French romantic period drama film written and directed by Creator/CelineSciamma, starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel (the latter actress having previously starred in Sciamma's debut film ''Film/WaterLilies'').

* AllThereInTheManual: There is no indication in the film itself to when and where in France does the story takes place, other than the ocean and 18th century fashion. Official synopsis says Brittany in 1770.

At the end of the 18th century, young painter Marianne (Merlant) is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse (Haenel), has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady's maid in order to gain her subject's trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: "The Four Seasons", like the rest of Antonio Vivaldi's music, was largely forgotten about after the composer's death in 1741 until his oeuvre underwent a major revival in the 20th century. The years of the film are never specified, but it would have been an unlikely musical touchstone in the latter half of the 18th century.

At the end of the 18th century, young painter Marianne (Merlant) is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse (Haenel), has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady's maid in order to gain her subject's trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her. Other notable characters include Héloïse's mother, an Italian widow who wishes to go back to Milan and hires Marianne, and Sophie, Héloïse's maid.

''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (French: ''Portrait de la jeune fille en feu'') is a 2019 French romantic period drama film written and directed by Creator/CelineSciamma.

At the end of the 18th century, young painter Marianne is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse, has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady's maid in order to gain her subject's trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her. Other notable characters include Héloïse's mother, an Italian widow who wishes to go back to Milan and hires Marianne, and Sophie, Héloïse's maid.

* FemaleGaze: the main motif of the movie is a woman observing a woman, and gradually falling in love in the process. Céline Sciamma has further acknowledge that the movie is all about FemaleGaze.

''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' (French: ''Portrait de la jeune fille en feu'') is a 2019 French period drama film directed and written by Creator/CelineSciamma.

At the end of the eighteenth century Marianne, a young painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse, has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady's maid in order to gain her subject's trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her. Other notable characters include Héloïse's mother, an Italian widow who wishes to go back to Milan and hires Marianne, and Sophie, Héloïse's maid.

At the end of the eighteenth century Marianne, a young painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse, has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady's maid in order to gain her subject's trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her.

Other notable characters are:
* Héloïse's mother, who has hired Marianne. She is an Italian widow and wishes to go back to Milan.
* Sophie, Héloïse's maid.

* DoubleStandard:

* ShoutOut: The film makes references to [[Myth/ClassicalMythology Orpheus and Eurydice]]. First, the characters read from the text and discuss it. Later when Marianne leaves the house, Héloïse calls her back and disappears into darkness when Marianne turns around just like what happened in the Greek legend. In the present, we see Marianne standing in front of a painting of hers showing the moment of separation between Orpheus and Eurydice.

* UpToEleven: How this film passes UsefulNotes/TheBechdelTest. There are no men except in the very beginning and ending of the film, they are not named and only one of them (barely) speaks. The only time babies are mentioned is about abortion.

* NoPeriodsPeriod: Averted. Marianne gets cramps as hers starts up, and Sophie makes a remedy for her. It also leads to the reveal of Sophie's pregnancy, as she's missed three in a row, as comes up in their conversation.

** Sophie has to try ridiculous and cumbersome tricks to get rid of her unwanted pregnancy. She ultimately has to go to a local 'faiseuse d'anges' (abortionist healer).

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: One of the only two songs featured in the entire movie is the third movement of "Summer" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's featured in two scenes- the first being when Marianne plays a bit of it for Héloïse on the harpsichord, the second being [[spoiler: the ending scene, where Marianne witnesses Héloïse being overcome with emotion while experiencing it being played by a full orchestra.]]

* RealityHasNoSoundtrack: The film has almost no soundtrack to reflect how precious Héloïse finds music in a time period where recordings don't exist and concerts are typically a privilege only enjoyed by the rich. The rare instances of music in the film are all diegetic and very important.

* Héloïse's mother, who has hired Marianne. She is an Italian widow, and wishes to go back to Milan.

* ArrangedMarriage: Because her mother wishes to live there, Héloïse will have to marry with some wealthy guy in Milan.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: It's established from the very beginning that they don't end up together, and that they only have a brief window of time together.

* DrivenToSuicide: It is heavily implied that the death of Héloïse's sister was not an accident but a suicide in order to escape her impending ArrangedMarriage.

* FireWaterJuxtaposition: All over the place. Scenes are often taking place by the ocean under a strong but cold daylight or by a fire, usually at night or indoors. One can argue that water symbolizes freedom and the outside world while fire represents intimacy, community and, of course, love.

* LipstickLesbian: Héloïse is a {{proper lady}} in her appearance and mannter per 18th century French standards, who also has an affair with Marianne, the female painter commissioned to do her portrait.

* PublicDomainSoundtrack: One of the only two songs featured in the entire movie is the third movement of "Summer" from Vivaldi's Four Seasons. It's featured in two scenes- the first being when Marianne plays a bit of it for Héloïse on the harpsichord, the second being [[spoiler: the ending scene, where Marianne witnesses Héloïse being overcome with emotion while experiencing it being played by a full orchestra.]]

* ColorCodedCharacters: Up until the end, the characters are consistently symbolized by primary colors. Marianne always wears red, Héloïse mainly wears blue ([[SignificantWardrobeShift then green and white]]) and Sophie wears yellow. [[spoiler:This is alluded to in the final painting of Marianne, in which Orpheus wears a red scarf and Eurydice wears white, making clear that the painting is about her relationship with Héloïse]].

* EtherealChoir: At the women's bonfire gathering.

* StarCrossedLovers: Marianne and Héloïse, both due to Héloïse's impending marriage and there's being a same-sex relationship. [[spoiler:They are parted in the end.]]
* TitleDrop: Marianne says it loud quite early. ''Portrait of a Lady on Fire'' is the name of a painting, by her.