Portrait of a Lady on fire - Ending Scene ***SPOILER*** 

This was one of the best endings of a movie I've ever seen

when i went to the cinema to see this, after this ending the whole roon was dead silent. no one moved. no one said anything. there was just this silence that filled the whole room. this whole movie is like a painting, pure art, and left me feeling vulnerable in a good way for hours after seeing this. no movie has ever in my life stayed in my memory and life and thoughts like this one.

I do think they both knew each other were there. Heloise’s interpretation of the Eurydice story was that “she was the one say turn around” and she made the lover’s choice; while Mariane made the poet’s choice (she turned around and saw her in wedding dress). As someone who made the lover’s choice (Eurydice story), she shouldn’t and wouldn’t turn around - so that she will keep her lover’s memory in heart and always feel her presence. This moment and piece made me cry so hard

This super long take is brutal. Making us sit with her emotions and travel through panic, sadness, desperation, relief.... Amazing filmmaking

"Dont Regret. Remember."

She didn’t say ONE thing and it was SPECTACULAR acting. One of the best performances of the year and she didn’t say one word

She knew Marianne was there, but she didn't dare to look at her.

She chose to be a lover, and not look back

She saw Marianne only through the music, and by only seeing her through the music and memory, she made the lover’s choice.

what if héloïse really did see her but she just doesn’t dare to look in marianne’s direction instead she listened to her lover’s favorite piece and already felt her presence.

I was really expecting at the last second ever she'd look her right in the eyes

She's running through every memory of them together. Laughter, sadness, anger, etc.

Personally this scene reminded me of the story of Orpheus that they discuss during the film. In their conversation, they discuss his reasons for turning around, and sending Eurydice back to the underworld, they all give off theories but Marianne suggests that he turns around because he makes a choice to live with the memory of her. The scene stood out to me, and I figured it must have had much more significance than in passing. The ending scene has a clear focus on whether or not Héloïse will turn to see Marianne, and it couldn’t help but remind me of the concept spoken of before when conversing about the tale or Orpheus. She clearly seems to be emotional, and even looks as if she is experiencing some form of emotional battle, possibly with herself. I think it’s the reverse of Marianne’s theory, that Héloïse actually knows she is there, but instead of looking at her as Orpheus did to Eurydice, she is not looking at her lover, choosing to focus on the memory of her rather then looking at her and creating new memories in their current circumstance. Memories that would lead to broken hearts and constraint due to the fact that she is now bound by marriage and family, and cannot be free like she was alone with her lover during the majority of the film. It’s choosing to remember her as she was rather than face their painful circumstances together in the present.

This is when she wanted to give Marianne her first kiss when Marianne was trying to play it for her. Fantastic movie. Wish they had meet again but back then it would of been awful for them.

Probably one of the most powerful scenes ever put on screen.

This escene is the definition of poetic cinema

I'm not over this.

The whole last 10 minutes brought me to tears, such a masterpiece!

Yes, important to watch the entire film. Making sure to appreciate the significance of how music is a central character in the story. This ending scene is only powerful if the viewer can see how it breaks through it all.

they are staring directly at each other in this scene. But even more strongly Marianne is seeing Héloïse see her in her memory and while the camera lingers in the close up in a way WE, the spectator become Marianne seeing Héloïse see her through music

This is the best version of Vivaldi's "The Storm" I have ever heard. Fast tempo, lots of energy. And it makes this scene all the more impactful. I wish I could find a recording of it.

There’s no simpler way to put it other than it was the most beautiful movie I have ever seen. I was in tears multiple times, not just due to emotion, but the way these scenes were constructed.... it tapped into the deepest essence of my being. The movie challenged me, it brought me joy, it brought me sadness, it made me question the depths of the female circumstance. I am a man and I feel like history is mostly told through the lenses of male perspectives. This movie showed me a glimpse (albeit perhaps small) into the world of love and life from a female perspective. Us men, we are so brusque at times. Blinded by our egos, our desires, our entitlements. We forget about the sensibility and depths of circumstances, of people, of pain, of love. Women are the true champions of our times and we must find ways to voice their perspectives effectively. I can’t thank this movie enough for what it’s done for me. I’m at a loss for words at the effect it had on me and will continue to. I hope you all enjoyed this movie as much as I did.

this scene nearly destroyed me as a human woman

Now that's a final shot. Good God.

She didn't see her. She remembers her playing this piece on the piano. That's why she cries. And she finally realizes the beauty of music Marianne couldn't describe to her. I mean, imagine hearing this performance live!

Remarkable ending. With no exaggeration, this is one of the best last few moments/ last shots of a film I’ve ever had the privilege to see and was what made the film for me. So much raw, overwhelming emotion captured. A true moment of lost love and the fact that this is the first time she’s hearing music like this, adds even more.

no one in the theater even moved or said a word when this ended. I was in shock with a face full of tears. truly a beautiful moment in cinema that will remain for centuries to come.

Héloïse raises her eyebrows and breathes through her mouth like Marianne's expressions.

I think Marianne was wrong, Héloïse did see her, just like the way she saw Héloïse in the painting. Edit: Please read the new comment I made, there's more. Thank you.

p.28

I wish i could delete my memory of this film so i can watch it again

this scene is so powerful, Adele says so much without even speaking.

the fact that they ended it with those words and then showing Heloise crying to an ORCHESTRA. the details in this movie were absolutely beautiful

I’m sorry but this scene is just so much more impressive to me than Call Me By Your Name’s ending.

I cried

How the expressions change from her face was the greatest complement to a masterful piece.

Her face goes through pretty much like every emotion in less than four minutes. So hypnotically beautiful

I downloaded this movie, it was 3 am and I thought I would just watch for 20 minutes and watch the remaining in the morning, I ended up watching whole movie, don't regret.

The Eurydice story played such a big part in the movie till the end. Perfectly written. Needless to say, I also cried, during and after this scene. Perfect ending. *Perfect*

If you see how the camera approaches her, pressing the gaze of Marianne into Heloise, you get the sense that Heloise knows she's there and that Marianne is asking her to turn back. Heloise is constantly tempted to turn back, but she doesn't want to destroy the memory Marianne has of her. So she doesn't. The coming storm Heloise has to resist constantly as Marianne is near. The camera positions her again as Marianne's object of study. She's posing for her. Lit by the candlelight of the stage. You even get to see her smile, something I bet only Marianne (and possibly her child) are able to make her do. But the smile is tearful. She cries for the future they won't share either way. This is part of the tragic nature of this story. Turning or not turning, it means the same here, not being able to be with the one you love.

Heloise’s slight smile as the song ends, it looked more like a smile of relief shows us that she was aware of marians presence. She was happy for that moment. I too think she decided not to turn, so she could Remember her as she was. She is content with not looking back at her, knowing that Marianne is staring at her is enough for her. She made the poets choice.💔

It's been 3 years since i first saw this film... Each and everytime i think about this movie, it aches my heart... No film ever had this kind of impact on me as a human... Hands down to the best film ever!

It is so utterly crazy how you can see every little detail of her emotions on her face. This is as good as acting gets, honestly. No words spoken, not even eye contact with the viewer and she manages to encapsulate an entire lifetime of emotions in her facial expressions… What a masterpiece.

Celine Sciamma....YOU CREATED A MASTERPIECE.

One of the best endings ever written

Heloise won’t look, she makes the poet’s choice.

One of the most artistic endings. True masterpiece.

This breaks my heart every time, but I keep coming back to it. I wish I could watch it for the first time. It's the film of the century.

It’s almost criminal that this movie didn’t win a single oscar. Goes to show how worthless these awards are. I usually criticise movies time to time... walking out of the theatre mad me realised that this movie didn’t have a single flaw.

I'm still not over this scene. Probably the best last scene of a movie I've seen so far.

I love how this scene lets the whole piece play, instead of cutting it short to save time. I kept wishing and wishing for it to continue, and even when it did, I craved more from it. Much like the characters themselves. This movie is perfect :)

Oh man! This scene made me cry my eyes out at the cinema

This movie just came out in my area of the USA (Baltimore, MD) and I just saw it. Wow. This scene alone should've gotten Adele Haenel a truckload of awards. She runs through the whole gauntlet of emotions.

This is the kind of scene where you can’t even breathe while watching it. Such an incredible movie.

Strongest scene ever.... and Vivaldi; it is the past, the future, world itself, universe...

This movie rocked me in a way no movie has or possibly ever will again. The score, the simple close up on Helois, the tears and the facial expressions, the references and the way this movie just makes you FEEL. I wish I could take away my memory of watching this movie just to watch it all over again and be left in the awe I felt when the credits began to roll.

I’m sorry but when I first saw it I cried so hard this brought me life and I never really thought i will see something so spectacular like this movie.

This scene kills me every time I watch 😭♥️

There is nothing like this movie, and there is certainly nothing like this ending. I'll never forget watching this masterpiece.

This is some of the greatest acting I have ever seen. What a master of emotion and skill.

Love that they both got the chance to be Orpheus and Eurydice. Their two decisions speak magnitudes to their characters and how they interpreted the story. Heloise knew she was there, but chose not to look, despite everything; heartbreaking yet at the same time incredibly strong and brave too. This movie fucking blew me away, I think we've all made the choices they have in our lives at some point.

So like in the entire film, heloise is made out to be eurydice, and marianne would be orpheus. Throughout the film, it is made clear that marianne is the one who can choose either the lover’s or poet’s choice, while heloise (as eurydice) would be right behind her, always gazing at her lover. We know that marianne chose the poet’s choice; the memory of heloise. But in the ending scene, the roles are reversed. Like in the painting scenes where heloise would pose for marianne, the camerawork significantly adds to the narration of the story. In the ending scene, marianne’s shot starts wide and exposed (implying that she is the muse now), while heloise’s shot becomes narrow and up-close (implying that she is now the artist). This means Heloise is now orpheus, and marianne is eurydice. This also means that Heloise is aware of marianne’s presence and refuses to look at her to make the “lover’s choice” or accepting the reality of the present. It is explicit in the film how the lovers are painted as equals. The ending further stresses the sentiment that the women are on the same ground, experiencing the same oppression, despite differences in their social class. The roles of orpheus and eurydice that they portrayed in the story are revealed to be merely an illusion; the truth is that they are both orpheus and eurydice, in a sense that they do not have a choice. They are not free to choose. They are both women living in an absurdly patriarchal society, and they had only experienced true freedom in their short time together as lovers and equals. Their act of creating the painting together is an act of empowerment. It is their way of independence and taking control of their futures somehow, with the new-found freedom of their empowering love. This film is beautiful

The way she cry, I could feel her pain, I also hold my breathe with her...

I don't know what makes me cry the most about this scene.. The fact that it is the last shot of an amazing movie, the acting or the beautiful music

There's so much happening....with just the gradual zooming in of the camera......one of the best filmed sequences in modern cinema!! A fitting finale to the classic!!

the last 10 minutes of this movie were the best 10 minutes in cinema history i think

I just saw this movie for the first time and it took my breath away. The acting, the lighting, the script...but the ending left me im tears!! It was absolutely masterful. I was deeply moved. In recent months i have given up on romantic love altogether. This ending lifted my spirit because it made me realize that love need not necessarily embody in the manner in which one typically expects. We may love from afar. We may love without physical presence. We may love forever so long as love lives inside.

I really like the subtle smile that hushes over Mariannes face when the music starts playing - telling us she knows why Héloïse is there, at that moment, at that concert. great acting.

It's #pridemonth and after seeing this movie I realised that love is love beyond race,gender and everything. 🥺🥺 I felt it in my bones and everytime I get goosebumps when I listen to this music.

Still here? Can't get over it. This final scene... is truly amazing! I don't know what to say!

Legitimately one of my favorite movie scenes of all time. Absolutely perfect.

this final scene is incredible, considering how difficult it is to end such a brilliant movie. Adèle Haenel is juste amazing

Also a friend of mine saw this in Paris and said people stood and cheered several times. When I saw it in theater I had to sit and not move for several minutes

I cried this whole scene!!! My sons walked in so confused.

I had the same reaction that she's having to the music for this scene...just brilliant the whole movie

Just watched this movie and spent at least 15 minutes ugly sobbing. I can't remember the last time a movie had such a strong emotional impact.

"Goodbyes are only for those who love with their eyes, for those who love with heart and soul there is no such thing as seperation." --- Rumi(1207-♾️)

They did 3 takes of the scene, one was out of focus The others , no stopping just straight shots. The director said they didn’t really discuss what she wanted, left that up to Adele , who at that time was considered the best actor in Europe. There is a small part of me that wonders if some of that emotion is also connected to her relationship to the director/writer as they were romantically involved for 5 years and in fact the movie was written for her

When she is told that Milan is not so bad because she'll find concerts and music, to which she responds: "oh, so I'll find solace now and then..." (or something like that) this is what came to mind when watching this scene. This moment of comfort she finds in a life that could be extremely dull to her. And so we see her breathing growing in intensity not only on fascination on what she is witnessing (Marianne's piece) but on the knowledge that she'll better get everything she can of this single moment because it'll only happen 'every now an then".

This scene always turns me into a puddle of tears! I was sobbing when I watched it the first time with my friends, but this film... Is no mere movie, it is a cinematic masterpiece

This movie made me straight up SOB. And I mean like ugly cry for a good while. It’s so captivating and the imagery is beautiful and to think that this could have potentially happened, and that similar hidden loves like theirs were ripped apart because of their sexuality is absolutely heart wrenching.

Everything about this scene is amazing, the way every noise goes silent just before the music starts playing and the way Héloïse reacts. It makes me cry so much. My love for this movie is UNIMAGINABLE.

a part of me dies whenever i watch this 😢

this goes to every woman or man who were forced onto heterosexuality,this movie hurts so much

Actually it's not a spoiler, you will have just missed the reason why this single take is so breathtaking

This imagery probably won't leave me for as long as I live

Oh how I cried at at this. After the movie was over and the audience when to the lobby, there were a lot of sniffs and red eyes

One of the most powerful scenes ever! I couldn't take my eyes off her face, watching her every flicker of emotion, every breath, I felt myself breathing faster, skin turning warm, and then sobbing. Reminds me of the the intense emotions I feel at times watching life theatre, e.g. the first time I saw Les Miserables on Broadway. Wow, what a privilege, thanks for sharing this unforgettable clip.

Halfway through this scene, it hit me like a TRUCK when I realized what the song playing was. Easily one of the most heart-shattering endings ever put on the silver screen. Fantastic work from everyone that worked on this.

everyone is comparing this movie with CMBYN, and I just want to say what I think. If we're talking about the endings between two movies, I think they're similar shots, but with different emotions. The actors/actress wasn't is the same situation and so the shots are different. So I think even they're both long take, there's no "better" and "worse" between the two, we can't just compare two movies just because they're both about lesbian or gay love. CMBYN is a summer love, this movie isn't, they spent their time and develop their love in different situation. The whole vibe between the two movie are different, too. CMBYN don't have that much of the artistic vibe(more of a Hollywood vibe... if you know what I mean), but the shots and the settings, places are still very pretty. Portrait of a Lady on fire is more French, by how they acts, how the camera move and sets, or even the music. I love both movies and sorry for the long comment, but I just think that there's reason why different directors choose their shots and how they present the emotion to the audience, and I appreciate both ending :)

heloise felt marianne’s gaze. she didn’t look back, for she took not the lover’s choice, but the poet’s

One of the greatest acting moments I have seen. Bravo

just went numb, her expressions are contagious.. felt her every breath and every tear

I thought I wasn't connecting with the characters throughout the film, but when this scene came up it killed me. By surprise too.

Okay. I have just watched the movie and I hundred percent know what the ending here signifies. Listen. Carefully. So, remember there is a scene where Marianne and heliose are together and one girl who paints goes and sits on piano and the other girl asks her about music, then the brunette plays her that music piece. She says. When storm is coming, the insect gets agitated because it senses the storms and then she plays the part of piano where storm breaks and there is lighting and thunder. In the last scene the same kind of music plays, the blonde girl SENSES the storm(her love) exactly at the point in music and she knows that brunette is there and the agitation on her face grows that signals her SENSING her somewhere around and at the same time her memories flicker through her mind of that exact moment when Marianne was playing for her. So actually two things are going on, one that metaphor of insect sensing the storm( heliose sensing Marianne) and the other Helios,s thinking of all the moments that they shared. In the end the music stops, the storm breaks and she gets relief for she has KNOWN True LOVE. Also she doesn't look away to Marianne because she does not want to break the illusion that she might be sitting where heliose is imagining her and also, if she does see her she would break her wedding that does not seem to be a very possible option and might end in hurt and trouble.

This is one of the best scenes I've ever seen in movies , the emotions I feel every time I watch it are uncountable, the way she breaths , the music , her eyes ...everything is just perfect. I could see and feel their whole story by just one scene. This is when filmmakers do a great job.

After having seen this movie a few times now, I think the ending is actually open-ended. Marianne says this is the last time she saw Heloise, but that is only up till the point she was narrating the story, which is the scene in the beginning of the movie a few years after their goodbye. It's entirely possible that they did see each other again. I like to believe that some time after the concert they eventually did meet, wrote letters, and saw each other over the years. It's the only way to console my poor broken heart :'(

Don't regret." Remember" ❤️

literally the best ending scene ever

How to act all de emotions of the whole movie in a scene without saying no words. W o w.