Céline Sciamma's film which won the Best Screenplay award from Cannes is based on a simple love story that combines the art of painting with the art of cinema. Every single scene is full of passion, art and romance. Set in 18th century Bretonia, the film is a period where men and women are not equal, under male domination and women paint within certain limits.
A LOOK THAT DOES NOT FIT THE TABLEAU
Painter Marianne comes to Bretonia to portray Héloise, the young bride-to-be of the house. This job is very difficult because Heloise refuses to make her portrait. The reason is that this portrait will be given to the man he will marry, the man he has never seen. Similarly, her sister, who wanted to marry a man she had never seen before, committed suicide or died. Because Héloise did not want to be portrayed, the painter Marianne is introduced by Héloise's mother as a companion. With the mother leaving the island for a few days, Héloise and Marianne spend time walking on the beach or at home during the day, and when night falls, Marianne paints all the details she had in mind.
Things get complicated when Marianne and Héloise get to know and understand each other and give way to a passionate love. As Marianne betrays herself and Héloise learns the truth, Héloise, Marianne and the housekeeper Sophie begin to become very close to each other. We almost follow a women's solidarity / friendship where class difference spontaneously disappears. On the other hand, her love for Marianne and Héloise is growing. Heloise, showing us the difference of seeing and looking in a harsh way, now begins to pose for Marianne. In this process, we begin to ask ourselves the question of who looks at who is being cared for. It is Héloise who made us ask this.
In the film, Sciamma tells us the story of women trying to survive in the 18th century, both with their art and their sexual orientation. We also see the story of the mythology ‘Orpheus and Euridice, which fits perfectly into the story of the film. Héloise, who did not look at Orpheus and Marianne, who lost her a second time because she looked back at her beloved love Euridice.
It is a film made up of the story of women. So much so that men are only mentioned in the film, we don't even know them. The man who impregnated the maid Sophie is the former painter who failed to portray Héloise, her father who taught Marianne to paint, and her suitor waiting for Héloise in Italy. These people are not part of the story, they do not matter. Director Sciamma said in an interview with cineuropa.org, "I am the product of male gaze - we are all. I spent my life on films that hate me, for example identify with Superman. Female eyes are hybrid - it's really important to know both these worlds. I'm a lesbian and a man. I know how to live in a dominant environment. But the question is, do they know? " says. The film, which we define as a simple love story with a model and painter, is actually the story of passion, inability to forget the past and women.
The film ended just as it should, and Sciamma, the director of the film, says he wrote the whole film to shoot the final scene of Héloise. "It is a very, very beautiful scene. Fortunately Euridice did not follow his orders in the finale, fortunately he did not turn to Orpheus." The 28 details we saw as we approached the end were a sequence that I was very impressed with. The film was released in Film October last year, but I could not watch it, I am very sorry that I watched it so late.
Ayça Özlen
2020 Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences
Graduate of Radio, Television and Cinema Department
