Since lesbian period dramas seem to be all the rage over the past few years, it is only fitting to talk about the one that was actually written and directed by a woman. We are talking about the sexy French lesbian film Portrait of a Lady on Fire directed by Celine Sciamma who is a very influential modern director in French cinema. Never heard of her? Let's change that! I promise you the introduction will be hot.
Celine Sciamma is definitely what we might call a workaholic. She writes scripts in her sleep for herself and for other people and nearly every film she has directed has been met with award nominations and praise. But let's talk about her origins. She comes to us from a suburb outside of Paris and was raised by her software designer father and grew up with her stand-up comedienne brother. That explains a lot! She was always in love with the movies and went to La Femis film school as soon as she was able. Her final project in film school was to write the script for Water Lilies, a script so good that her mentors in school convinced her to pursue making it. So she did! After she graduated, she began work on filming it. Water Lilies became her debut film as it told the story of three synchronized swimmers outside of Paris and it was immediately noticed. She was nominated for several awards including the Camera d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. She worked with Adele Haenel in the film whom she would work with again later on - thankfully! Fun fact: Adele is not only Sciamma's muse, but she was formerly her girlfriend.
After that, she wrote and directed Tomboy and Girlfriend, but she also provided the script for the film Being 17. While only Being 17 gives us nudity, all of these films were wildly important and critically acclaimed. Tomboy was allegedly written in three weeks and shot in 20 days, the entire thing completed in a matter of months. That is really rare for any movie! Even a short film can take a year or two to complete. Tomboy has also become essential viewing, even shown in schools, as it shows the journey of a gender-nonconforming child.
She returned behind the camera to write and direct her masterpiece: 2019's Portrait of a Lady on Fire. This film swept awards around the world. It won Best Screenplay at Cannes and was nominated for a foreign language film Golden Globe and BAFTA awards. Here at Mr. Skin, we were immediately moved and excited about this film. Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel provide a lot of sexy love. Interestingly, Celine told The Guardian: “In France, they don’t find the film hot. [They think] it lacks flesh, it’s not erotic. It seems like there are some things that they can’t receive.” I don't want to say either party is wrong. The movie IS hot and I respect the director's vision, but...ya know...a movie can always use a little more skin.
That being said, Sciamma introduced a feminine gaze to audiences around the world as she told this story about women in the 18th century who fall in love with one another. They meet and hit it off at an event and then concoct a way for them to be together. One of them is an art teacher so she goes to the remote manor on an island off of Brittany to teach her interested noblewoman art lessons. They fall passionately in love, hiding their relationship behind the art and their daily walks. Sure, they are just walking companions! A totally normal, platonic relationship!
Sciamma, an open lesbian, has obvious queer and feminist themes in all of her films. She said that she originally intended for this movie to simply be about a beautiful love story and she worked with her actress Adele to define the characters from there. It really is a beautiful love story and in telling this story Sciamma is showing a beautiful relationship that manages to thrive despite the limitations of the time. Sciamma is also a founding member of 50/50 by 2020 which was a movement advocating for gender equality in the film industry. All that meant is that they wanted more women on set, working behind the scenes, and for all women in the industry to be paid equally. It's tough work, but Celine is clearly a tough cookie. She is incredibly well respected in France and abroad and I really look forward to seeing what she will do next. I don't think that she has peaked yet. I have a feeling she isn't even close to making her true masterpiece.
As we wait for more eye-opening and titillating work from Celine Sciamma, let's take a look at this hot scene between Adele and Noemie in Portrait of a Lady on Fire:
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