"Portrait of a Lady on Fire" and "The Two Popes"

There are many different ways to admire Celine Sciamma's "Portrait of a Lady on Fire." Most obviously, it's the story of two young women who fall in love, set in the 18th century. Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is an artist who is hired to come to a remote isle and surreptitiously paint the portrait of a woman, Heloise (Adèle Haenel), who is soon to be married off to a Milanese nobleman. Initially Marianne and Heloise become friends, but after the ruse is discovered, their relationship becomes more complicated. All the primary characters in the film are female, including Heloise's maid Sophie (Luàna Bajrami), and stern mother, the Countess (Valeria Golina), who hires Marianne.

The romance is a lovely, intimate thing, carried out largely through looks and glances at first. The two women explore the craggy, beautiful seaside, two romantic windswept figures inexorably coming together against a lonely expanse. Their conversations are often elusive, but increasingly intimate. I like the way that personal items are treated as totemic - a dress, a book, and of course the fateful painting. I appreciate that the film is full of indirect expressions of beauty and feeling, pain over missed or fleeting connections, and many different facets of femininity. However, I have to admit that I found the greatest pleasure from the film in its depiction of art - both the creation of pieces like the portraits of Heloise, and the consumption of art, such as the women's connection over Vivaldi's "The Four Seasons."

It's the early segments of the film that thrilled me most, the way it presents its mysteries and builds dramatic tension. Much of this is hinged on the decision not to show Heloise's uncovered face until well into the film, instead giving Marianne only hints and glimpses of her subject, including the unfinished portrait left by a previous artist. The approach puts the viewer in the same frame of mind as Marianne, watchful and curious. Then the story shifts to Marianne's attempts to reconcile and express her own views and feelings through her art. I've always found the act of painting fascinating, and the painting sequences here depicting Marianne's process are mesmerizing. It's not often these days that I wish a film were longer, but I could have watched "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" for another few hours beyond its 120 minute length.

Now on to "The Two Popes," Fernando Meirelles's historical drama about the current and former Popes, now known as Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI. We first meet the pair back in 2005, when they were Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires (Jonathan Pryce) and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany (Anthony Hopkins). They are depicted as rivals, a reformist and a traditionalist with very different experiences with the with the church. The narrative is far more concerned with Bergoglio than Ratzinger, devoting significant time to his past, his career, and his troubled history during the Argentine dictatorship in the 1970s.

Based on an Anthony McCarten play, the majority of the film is taken up by meetings and conversations between Bergoglio and Pope Benedict XVI, shortly before the latter decides to resign from his position. The pair debate about the direction of the church, about the nature of their faith, and their approaches to spiritual difficulties. As they reminisce and share experiences, we see them start to bond and form a friendship, leading up to a delightful epilogue where they watch the Germany-Argentina World Cup match in 2014 together. Meirelles delights in the moments where he brings the two men down to earth - Pope Benedict likes a goofy television show about the adventures of a police dog named Komissar Rex - but he's largely respectful and considerate of both men.

I'm always a little wary of biopics that invent so much out of whole cloth, and I'm very aware of critiques that are circulating about the characterization of the film's central duo being too lenient and cuddly. Still, the performances of Hopkins and Pryce are excellent, and the film presents a very thoughtful attempt by the filmmakers to dig into contemporary religious, spiritual, and moral issues through their interrogation of the Popes. It's a film that isn't afraid to ask questions and express its opinions, and I think that's valuable even when the viewpoints are not particularly controversial. There's a pleasant casualness about the film's atmosphere which I also found very welcoming. If "The Two Popes" accomplishes anything, it's to demystify the papacy a bit, in the best way.

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