Portrait of a Lady On Fire(CA Retro)

Céline Sciamma describes Chantal Akerman as one of the most important filmmakers in the history of cinema and “how radical you can be and how being radical is also being generous”. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is Sciamma putting Akerman’s radicality in action: revolving around an 18th century female artist’s creativity and desire (an 18th century equivalent to Meetings with Anna, say) as she seeks to complete a painting of a noblewoman she loves, the film is cerebral, captivating and – like Jeanne Dielman – produced by a team where all the top creative positions were filled by women. A fiery, heart-stopping tour de force Akerman will certainly be very proud of.