If there is such a genre as ‘Mystical Femme,’ and there really should be, French writer/director Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire belongs in it, placed at the top. Winner of the Queer Palm and Best Screenplay at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, the film features magnetic lead actresses whose chemistry with each other is off the charts. They are on fire, together.
Sciamma brings us romance, heartbreak, yearning, and acceptance from a decidedly and authentically female perspective. What a breath of fresh air to see women populate every moment of screen time, building story and character, showing their weaknesses, their internal struggles, and their desires unapologetically.
