Portrait of a Lady on Fire
M
France, 2019
Genre: Romance, Drama
Language: French
Director: Céline Sciamma
Starring: Noémie Merlant, Adèle Haenel, Luàna Bajrami
What's it about?
Céline Sciamma's stunning and sumptuous romance takes place on an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the eighteenth century. Marianne is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait of Héloïse, who does not wish to be married and refuses to be painted. Marianne works in secret, closely observing Héloïse. While living in relative solitude a romance grows. Prepare to shed some tears.
Compartment No.6
MA15+
Finland, Russia, Estonia, Germany, 2021
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Finnish, Russian, English
Director: Juho Kuosmanen
Starring: Seidi Haarla, Juri Borisov, Dinara Drukarova
What's it about?
Finnish student Laura escapes a love affair in Moscow and takes a train that weaves its way up to the arctic circle. She is forced to share a small sleeping car with the young Russian miner Ljoha. The two strangers share a journey that will change their perspective on life, in this unconventional love story with great performances.
Lola
PG
France, Italy, 1961
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: French, English
Director: Jacques Demy
Starring: Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Alan Scott, Elina Labourdette
What's it about?
Jacques Demy's classic stars the captivating Anouk Aimée in the title role. Roland is young and bored in a seaside town until he meets with his former girlfriend Lola. Now a cabaret dancer and single mother, Roland soon finds himself falling back in love with her, but Lola is preoccupied with her former lover Michel and also dodging the affections of American sailor, Frankie. The film is a bittersweet tale about the resilience of love.
Blessed Madness
M
Italy, 2018
Genre: Comedy
Language: Italian
Director: Carlo Verdone
Starring: Carlo Verdone, Ilenia Pastorelli, Maria Pia Calzone, Lucrezia Lante delle Rovere
What's it about?
Guglielmo was a faithful husband, serious, mild-mannered and a devoted Catholic when suddenly on his wedding anniversary, he finds out his wife has been cheating on him with his shop assistant. Finding himself without a wife and employee, he hires the young and brazen Luna. After a rocky start, she helps him at work, with trying to find love again and taking a new outlook on life.
The Love Letter
MA15+
France, 2021
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: French
Director: Jérôme Bonnell
Starring: Grégory Montel, Grégory Gadebois, Anaïs Demoustier, Léa Drucker
What's it about?
After being rejected by his ex-girlfriend Léa, Jonas goes to the café downstairs to write her a final love letter. What begins as a last attempt to get her back surprisingly turns into a vivid musing on the state of his life. Over the course of a day, helped by a wisecracking bartender and an array of patrons from the neighbourhood, Jonas has to face his past relationships, his uncertain future and, most of all, himself.
Hard Shell, Soft Shell
M
France, 2021
Genre: Drama, Romance
Language: Finnish
Director: Emma Benestan
Starring: Yasin Houicha, Oulaya Amamra, Raphaël Quenard, Tiphaine Daviot
What's it about?
Az, an oyster worker in Sète, was just dumped by his girlfriend, Jessica, a starlet from the local police TV drama series when he proposed to her. Fortunately, his band of friends are ready to do anything to help him get his head out of the water, which includes some dance lessons to make Jessica jealous (think Dirty Dancing, young Algerian style). Az is forced to confront his understanding of what happiness really looks like – both hers and his own. In her first feature film, director Emma Benestan hijacks the traditional codes of comedy with a joyfully feminist take on contemporary masculinity and rom-coms.
Bajirao Mastani
M
India, 2015
Genre: War, History, Romance
Language: Hindi
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, Tanvi Azmi, Vaibhav Tatwawadi
What's it about?
In this epic historical romance/action film from India narrated by Irrfan Khan, Peshwa Bajirao, despite already being married, falls in love with Mastani, a warrior princess who seeks his help. The pair struggle to make their love work despite protest from his family.
The One I Love
M
USA, 2014
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Language: English
Director: Charlie McDowell
Starring: Elisabeth Moss, Mark Duplass, Ted Danson
What's it about?
Let's take a turn into thriller territory with this comedy starring Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss as a young couple struggling to keep their marriage alive. Their therapist suggests they take a weekend away at a secluded estate. But when they arrive they soon discover that an unusual dilemma awaits them.
[link title="The One I love review" url="node/26627"]
Dogs Don't Wear Pants
MA15+
Finland, Latvia, 2019
Genre: Drama, Comedy
Language: Finnish
Director: J-P Valkeapää
Starring: Pekka Strang, Krista Kosonen, Ilona Huhta, Jani Volanen, Oona Airola, Iiris Anttila, Ester Geislerová
What's it about?
This erotic black comedy from Finland may be dark but is surprisingly touching. We follow Juha who has lost his wife in a tragic accident. Years after, he still feels numb and unable to connect with people. Meeting Mona, a dominatrix, changes everything, and he develops a powerful connection with her. His dangerous addiction to suffocation is reciprocated by Mona leading them both down a wild and crazy path towards emotional enlightenment.
The Duke of Burgundy
MA15+
UK, Hungary, 2014
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Language: English
Director: Peter Strickland
Starring: Sidse Babett Knudsen, Chiara D'Anna, Eugenia Caruso, Zita Kraszkó, Monica Swinn, Eszter Tompa
What's it about?
We close with more erotic cinema, the stylish, sensual and smart British film directed by Peter Strickland and starring Sidse Babett Knudsen (who you may remember from ). Day in, day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.
[link title="The Duke of Burgundy review: 70s erotic cinema is resuscitated" url="node/46141"]
