Watch Dead Man: In the 19th issue of " Garden ", we finally waited for the annual hit lesbian movie "Portrait of a Burning Woman". After winning the Best Screenplay and Queer Palme d'Or in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival in May, he has overcome all obstacles and won many important awards in the second half of the awards season. Some people say that this film can be called the female version of "Call Me by Your Name", what do you think?
Column | Garden
Author | Peter Pan
Looking back at this year's Cannes Film Festival, in addition to heavyweight directors such as Almodovar, Quentin, and the Darney Brothers, there are also some dark horses that are maturing. Among them, the LGBT film "Portrait of a Burning Woman" directed by Celine Sciamma won a lot of applause for its stunning aesthetic presentation, and finally won the Queer Palme d'Or and the best screenwriter in the main competition unit.
As early as 2007, French director Serin Sciamma entered the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes with "Daffodils", and won the Berlin Film Festival Teddy Bear Jury Award for "Tomboy" in 2011.
In 2016, she also served as one of the screenwriters in the hit French animation "Life of a Zucchini". In other words, Sciamma is the first time to enter the main competition of the three majors as a director. After the Cannes premiere at that time, some people said that "Portrait of a Burning Woman" would definitely become the dark horse of this year's LGBT explosion.
The story in the film took place in Brittany, France in 1760. The portrait artist Marianne came to the count's house to paint a portrait of Miss Heloise, who was to be married, to send to her fiancé for a big wedding. Heloise was initially defined as a quirky and tricky eldest lady, until she became extraordinarily bright and charming when she met Marianne. After getting along day and night, the two fell in love.
The most touching moment in the film is the "burning" scene. At sunset, Marianne stared at Heloise with fascinated eyes. With the surging soundtrack, the camera moved motionlessly towards Heloise from Marianne's point of view. In the reflection of the firelight, her affection was sprouting, so charming and beautiful. bright.
But the film itself is not completely satisfied with the private coupling of the two people. On the contrary, the director also shows the concept and pursuit of artistic creation through the role. Celine Sciamma uses the legend of Oedipus and Eurydice as a metaphor for the film's finale. Can the memory of a lover and the perception of the sweetness and bitterness of love be given more artistic meaning in reality? The director gave the answer in the film: "What he made was not a lover's choice, but a poet's choice".
As an author's film, "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is full of meticulous brushwork between the lines. Like most classical plays, it also has a definite period at the end. The on fire in the title of the film not only refers to the fire when the portrait is lit in the film, but also the fire of love burning in the hearts of the two.
The image of Heloise in the film is also binary. First, she is an abstract gesture in the painting; second, she is a body full of texture in reality. Sciamma, on the other hand, bridges the physical distance between the two heroines with an isolated space, while emphasizing their broken and recurring emotional bond.
Thanks to director Sciamma's meticulous layout of scenes and props, the film's tone and composition are easily reminiscent of the European 18th century literary and artistic style, the transition from Rococo to Romanticism. The film does not give any clear information on the background of the story, but through the costumes and dressing of the characters, we can accurately feel the social style of that period.
At the end of the 18th century, with the decline of Rococo fashion, the simple and plain British style of dress emerged across the European continent. And in pre-industrial Europe, most women actually only had one or two items in their wardrobe. An ordinary noble lady like Heloise only needs a few more silk clothes.
Sciamma's first foray into costume dramas, the film begins with a cautious and dignified classical watercolor, but as the relationship between characters changes, it gradually becomes a vivid and full portrait oil painting. The romantic relationship "stolen" by the two heroines in the social reality at that time has a female-specific sense of insecurity and vigilance against unfamiliar relationships. From vigilance to observation, from touch to temptation, the film uses romantic brushstrokes to dazzle a kind of "two souls really facing each other".
What is rare is that the film "Portrait of a Burning Woman" is still a work with female filmmakers as absolute dominance. In the past, Cannes such as "Carol", "Adele's Life" and "Miss", which set off a heated discussion in Cannes, were all works by male directors, and the actors were mainly heterosexual.
In contrast, this "Portrait of a Burning Woman" not only has a more female perspective in creation, but in real life, director Celine Sciamma and heroine Adele Hanel were once a pair. lovers.
Throughout the world film industry in recent years, LGBT themes have gradually developed from a simple focus on the interlaced relationship of same-sex love in the early years to a more diversified direction, incorporating social issues, the relationship between individuals and the outside world, or personal growth, etc. There are also many fans who will compare "Portrait of a Burning Woman" with the hit "Please Call Me by Your Name" the year before.
In the history of film and even art, the male eye has always dominated. The film created by Sciamma from a female perspective firstly formed a sharp contrast with the previous similar themes, connecting the oil paintings with soft lines and the dark emotions. Secondly, on the topic, director Sciamma integrates female self-consciousness, and obviously has a very different dimension of expression.
Compared with Sciamma's realistic predecessors "Tomboy" and "Girl Gang", the new work "Portrait of a Burning Woman" undoubtedly shows a more refreshing creative direction. The composition of the picture in the film has the beauty of classical oil painting, as well as more detailed color precision;
From the curve of the ear cartilage to the rounded outline of the hands, the film uses painting as the biggest entry point, and Marianne's eyes to remember every inch of Heloise, even the smallest movements. Observing in painting, obsessed in observation, awakening self-consciousness in love.
This lesbian film by Sciamma is more self-conscious under the theme of "sex and gender", placing the fluidity of modern consciousness into classical drama. Like the paintings in the film (all by French artist Helena del Maire), the brushwork is freer and looser than the mainstream French portraiture of the time.
As the film's director and screenwriter, Sciamma told this classical dramatic story in a prose-like tone. True love certainly fascinates the world, but the loss of meaningful memories may be the ultimate pursuit of art.
There will be a time to meet, and there will be no time later. When the film ended at the end, the obsession in the eyes of the two people was still burning slowly and tenaciously. However, many lovers who love deeply end up letting go to fulfill each other.
What is different from Abdai Keshish's "The Life of Adele" is that all the plot climaxes accumulated by desire in the film "Portrait of a Burning Woman" are mostly turbulent under restraint, which is completely different from "Adele's Life". Dale's Life uses strong sex scenes to express the relationship between the two.
When dealing with the emotional relationship of the characters, the director Sciamma strictly followed the unified style of the script and kept the characters' behavioral motives in line with the strict social etiquette at that time, creating this "Romeo and Juliet" secret love affair.
Such an obscure expression technique also reflects the trust that director Sciamma has in his actors. The body language of refusing and welcoming, the inner tacit understanding that is difficult to detect, and the secret joy between the brows and the corners of the eyes; although the performance is more difficult, it makes the audience feel more involved.
The film "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" is destined to leave a special and important mark for us in 2019. It is like burning the soul with a slight fire, and will finally cook a long-lasting aftertaste of love in the fire.
Column | Garden; Author | Peter Pan
Official Account | Watching Movies and Seeing Death
Editor | Teenager on the Roof; Please indicate if reprinted
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