By Hope Ankney
If you’ve been looking for a good period piece with romance and gender representation, then look no further than Celine Sciamma’s newest directorial move. Ending the year off right, Portrait of a Lady on Fire is the French film that burns on female desire. Following the story surrounding the 18th-century painting, the focus of the film revolves around the woman, Héloïse, who refuses to pose for it, defiant against the arranged marriage she’s being forced into. This where she meets the artist commissioned to paint the portrait, Marianne, who she ends up having a very complex and intellectual bond with. Told through Marianne’s eyes, it’s a film that’s hopeful, heart-wrenching, and utterly poetic as a beautiful lesbian representation of love and loss.
Check out our movie review of Portrait of a Lady on Fire, a stunning romance film for date night!
Should you see it: If you love period pieces, romance stories, female-directed films, or are just tired of not seeing enough lesbian representation in the industry, you should definitely mark your calendar to see Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It’ll be a film you won’t stop talking about in the new year.
Who to take: This movie is perfect for date night or just a G.N.O with some friends who want to experience a tearful yet beautiful love story! Filled with moments of complexity and the deeper layers of how love blossoms between two people, it’s great for conversations over dinner about how the story made you feel afterward.
Cupid’s Advice:
Portrait of a Lady on Fire details the relationship between two women who come into one another’s lives in a way they both don’t expect. A forbidden love story that relies heavily on trust and vulnerability, it pulls on anyone’s heartstrings who have found themselves in relationships that are new and frightening. First time experiences and allowing a stranger into your chest can be a hazardous territory. If you’re in-between a budding romance, but you’re having a hard time allowing yourself to be completely vulnerable with the other, don’t worry. Cupid has some relationship advice on how to knock your walls down as to let the other person in:
1. Communicate your fears: Stepping into a new relationship, usually, means that you haven’t shared a lot about yourself with your partner. They don’t know about your insecurities, doubts, problems, or fears. But, if you allow yourself to peel the layers back and reveal some of those issues and walls that you have built up, it’ll be a relief for both you and your significant other. Besides, being vulnerable is one of the most attractive things to be in a relationship, and it will increase your intimacy and emotional connection ten-fold.
Related Link: Movie Review: The Sky is Pink
2. Open up instead of shutting down: We’ve all been guilty of this. We get into an argument or something hurts our feelings, and instead of talking it through, we go completely silent and deal with it internally. In most cases, problems can be solved by choosing not to shut down but to open up. Communicating with your partner about something they did that affected you not only allows understanding of perspective, but it allows you, as a couple, to learn from the experience.
Related Link: Movie Review: The Joker
3. Share aspirations and passions: It’s a common theme in relationships that people fail to do what they love because they’re afraid of what their partner will think. If you have a goal or dream that is incredibly important to you, allow your partner to know about it! When you share something that personal with a significant other, you are letting them into your world which can make your relationship even better than it is. The more you do this, the stronger and more unique your bond will become.
What are some ways you’ve opened up in new relationships? Let us know down below!
