Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Céline Sciamma shot the film in thirty eight days at Saint-Pierre-Quiberon in Brittany and at a château in Seine-et-Marne. Every painting and sketch on screen is by Hélène Delmaire, who worked sixteen hours a day through the shoot, following the blocking of each scene; the hands laying down paint are hers. Sciamma decided the film would carry no score, and has said she knew that was risky for a love story. She chose Vivaldi because she wanted a piece everyone already knew. Music is therefore almost absent, and the handful of musical moments carry the whole weight. Claire Mathon shot on a large sensor digital camera at 7K, keeping 8K only as headroom for stabilising in post. The candlelight is not what it appears either: candles set into lamp housings with the bulbs removed, mixed with 2000 kelvin LED ribbon and ropelight. The film won Best Screenplay at Cannes and the Queer Palm, and Mathon won Best Cinematography at the Césars. France shortlisted it but sent Les Misérables to the Oscars; it was nominated for the Golden Globe for foreign language film. A good fit if you want the argument about why Orpheus turned around held openly between three women and answered by the ending. Not for viewers who will find the unbroken final shot long while the Vivaldi plays.