There's an elusiveness to Portrait of a Lady on Fire that could very easily be frustrating, but in the gentle hands of Celine Sciamma and the performers, it's pure beauty. It's celluloid that takes its gentle time, enticing the audience to reckon with each stolen, clandestine moment between these two lovers, to study them, as they do to each other; every gaze, every touch, every word, every posture. Even Héloïse's introduction is treated like a grand reveal. What it amalgamates is an exquisite sensory experience, that dedicates itself to actually showing the love building between the couple (more than can be said for a lot of romance movies.) I'm sincerely sorry I ever even delayed watching it.