Director Céline Sciamma once said how she stumbled upon the forgotten lives of women artists from 18th-century France. Despite the heavy chains of their time—bound by the limits of gender and society—these women found ways to make art. They were ghosts, their works long lost or dismissed, yet their defiance reflected deeply in their work. It was this discovery that led her to make Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Set in 1700s, on a remote island in Brittany, the film tells the love story between Héloïse, a strong-willed noblewoman, and Marianne, a young painter hired as her companion to secretly paint her portrait for marriage proposals. "If you look at me, who do I look at?" During one such session, after Héloïse finds out the truth and offers to pose for her, Marianne realizes what it means to be put under a microscope, even if it's for fairer artistic pursuits. The enigma of artist and 'his' muse is blown to smithereens in this erotic romance.

While the film is fated to a heartbreaking ending, we have several moments of respite, of longing, of loving, of quiet. It's a work of art that lingers, like the gaze of an astute observer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?…