Don’t Regret. Remember

This was the last movie that I saw in theaters just before the COVID lockdown, when everything came to a sudden and unexpected stop. Somehow that seems like a fitting realization when I went to see this movie for a second time, and encountered all of the things that I’ve either forgotten or didn’t see the first time. I don’t remember how much of the story I knew going in the first time, but I was immediately immersed in this world where creativity is a whispered effort and where all women, rich and poor, struggle with an existence devoid of choice or freedom. And somehow, despite that, a beautiful moment is found and captured by the painter, the trapped bride and the director of this film. 

Contrast this film with the other film I saw tonight, “Purple Rain,” where the characters were paper-thin and the sexuality was 1980s skin-amax, this one is so much deeper and genuine and subtle. I enjoyed Prince’s music and remembering the slightly out-of-control scene I experienced in the 1980s and 90s. But when you get past all of the noise and the unnecessary soap-opera drama, that’s where “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” exists. Maybe it’s my age, or the insanity we’re all going through right now, but I hope that you have a little “page 28” in your life that you can turn to, and remember, and re-experience that time or those times when you had something impossibly beautiful in your life. Be good to one another and cherish the love that you have or have had in your life. 

[Movie viewed at Beverly Theater on 2025-06-07].

Click here for a beautiful music video mashup based on the movie and two haunting Billie Ellish songs.  

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Tags: 2019 movies, 2025 movies, love is love, portrait of a lady on fire, video Thursdays 

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