- Both a moving love story (like The Piano, Call Me By Your Name) and a film about the artistic process (La Belle Noiseuse from Rivette)
- I think it shares a great deal with The Souvenir from Joanna Hogg (including the above) and a jaw-on-the-floor final shot
Both a moving love story (like The Piano, Call Me By Your Name) and a film about the artistic process (La Belle Noiseuse from Rivette)
- Opens with Noémie Merlant in a blue dress flanked in blue background (clear care from Sciamma of what’s in the frame) before we go into the extended flashback which makes the majority of our film here)
- A great shot/sequence at the 21 minute mark- a sort of Varda dueling faces profile shot (being a French film I’m using Varda instead of Bergman for the influence- haha)
a variation on the Varda shot from La Pointe Courte (or Bergman shot) of faces blocked in the frame
- The first hour is rather stylistically quiet, minimalist – the dresses in green and red. It is a far cry from Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner (a film about an artist that also has painterly images), but some very nice painterly shots along the shoreline
very nice painterly shots along the shoreline
- The campfire chanting sequence at 78 minutes a standout scene
The campfire chanting sequence at 78 minutes a standout scene
- A very nice frame with the all white dress in the doorway image at 82 minutes
A very nice frame with the all white dress in the doorway image at 82 minutes
- Sciamma ends the film with dueling epilogues- both superb. At first we look at the portrait of Heloise (Adele Haenel) as she now has a daughter and is earmarking page 28
- Finally we end with one of 2019’s best final shots and sequences – a camera zoom in on Adele Haenel’s character gliding into a long take holding on a face of lost love- – Call Me By Your Name is recalled here. Brilliant work
Finally we end with one of 2019’s best final shots and sequences – A camera zoom in on Adele Haenel’s character gliding into a long take holding on a face of lost love- – brilliant work
- Highly Recommend- a top 10 of the year quality film
Finally! It’s here! I remember you really wanted to see it, did it deliver to your expectations? I’m a little higher on Portrait of a Lady on Fire since I currently have it sitting at #8 for 2019 and #45 of the decade, so that makes it a MS. There’s a chance I’m overatting it so I need a revisit, but for now, I’m good with those slots.
@Cinephile– expectations are a tricky thing aren’t they? I really try not to come into a movie with any —but that’s impossible to do. Not always- but my expectations are mostly driven by the director and I was not overly impressed with Sciamma’s previous work. I think this is clearly her best to date.
I may also be overrated, a truly incredible movie, I love this movie.
This would make a 2019 top even more difficult, right? one of the best years of cinema
@Aldo– I have 2019 with 6 masterpieces, more than any other year of the decade. What a year! It truly is one of the best years of all time and I’m not sure right now that my #7 film of 2019 is not a masterpiece. That’s saying a lot.
Well, what’s your definition of a masterpiece? How many movies are MP for you? Top 400?
Well 1960 has 7. I thought 2014 was the best year of the 2010s, but the answer is 2019, i’m not ready to call this a masterpiece yet, but it’s very close, so far in 2019 i think there are 4 masterpieces, although i think loses the race because the top of 1960 has 5 in the top 100 and 10 in the top 500
What would be your top of 2019 @Cinephile?
@Azman— I’m not exactly sure. I don’t think there are 400, but I’d probably rate a few more than Drake as MPs. From the 2010s, I have 32 films graded as MP
@Aldo– Yep, I’m 90% sure that Portrait of A Lady on Fire is not a MP but still, #8 of the year is a strong spot considering so many films come out. 1960 is probably the greatest year in cinematic history so most years pale by comparison.
I’m happy you asked about my best films of 2019 since I finalized both my year-end lists of the 2010s and my top 100 of the decade.
1. Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood
2. 1917
3. Waves
4. The Irishman
5. Midsommar
6. Parasite
7. Ad Astra
8. Portrait of A Lady on Fire
9. Marriage Story
10. Little Women
Honorable Mentions:
-A Hidden Life
-Uncut Gems
-Pain and Glory
-Joker
-The Lighthouse
Ok, someone is going to ask why I dropped The Irishman so much since I considered it the best film of 2019 and probably the greatest of the decade. I want to say that all the films of the year from 1917 to Parasite are somewhat tied and all of the them land from 19-27 on my best of the decade list. I’m confused by my placement of The Irishman and I feel I’m underrating it so I see it belonging everywhere from 20 to 10 of the decade in future updates. For now, it’s #21.
Well, Ad Astra is certainly very close to being a masterpiece, I think, contrary to what the parasite thought, it has faded a bit.
Very happy from position 1, after my sixth visualization i am sure it is the best of 2019.
I’m very happy this film got the attention it deserved! I think it could have easily slipped under the radar but thankfully people took notice. I notice some thematic and stylistic influences from 1984’s the Bostonians. Even though I consider Portrait to be a far better film, I can clearly recall those beautiful shots by the sea with Redgrave and her co-star, whose name eludes me – I think those frames were the best part of the Bostonians, to be honest. Plus the setting (period piece) and the subject matter (variations here, but still) are similar.
Did you got a chance to see An officer and a Spy (2019) from Roman Polanski?Polanski won the Cesar award for best director ahead of Sciamma.Apparently the lead Actress here(Adele Haenel) walked out of the ceremony when Polanski won the best Director award.
@Anderson- unfortunately not yet- I haven’t seen it available yet here where I am actually. The reviews here (metacritic) weren’t great- but I’m excited to see it nonetheless and will seek it out as soon as it is available.
It’s a good movie yet the hype kinda killed it for me. Do you kno why so many people insist that this is a masterpiece. I’m not a film student but I happen to follow lots of film profiles some film students and most happen to regard this film as a MP over so many other great films. Do you see it as superior on some technical aspects? Some people do. Do you still have it as a HR film? I think that is a deserving spot yet I could be wrong. I struggled tons with Lewyn Davies first and now it is like one of my favorites of all time so it seems for many people online this is like the best movie of the decade but it was underwhelming to me
Any thoughts? Haha. Any chance to revisit this?
@Alejandro- I have only seen it once so far, which certainly isn’t enough. But my thoughts on it are on the page here. It is funny you mention Inside Llewyn Davis because I had the same sort of journey.
I’ve had this as an HR for a couple of years now. Just watched it last night and am considering an upgrade to HR/MS or MS. Only thing giving me pause is the first hour being stylistically quiet as you said @Drake. Have you had the opportunity for a second viewing yet @Drake?
@LeBron Smith- Not yet- and I need to. I did see Petite Maman (a fine film) and sort of took that as confirmation that the consensus (Sight and Sound at least) was overrating Sciamma.
Well according to the new TSPDT list, this is the best of the 2010s! All hail cinema god Celine Sciamma. Not the most shocking development, but it’s certainly not something I’d go with over the likes of The Tree of Life or Roma.
What do we all think of the new list? I wasn’t exactly overjoyed after a quick perusal, but I’m happy to see a few of my favourites like Late Spring and The Piano trending in a good direction.
@ga- Yep, and Petite Maman the only film from the 2020s listed