The Orpheus and Eurydice myth told through the film "Portrait of a Lady on Fire."

The cinematic treasure "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (2019) masterfully retells the Orpheus and Eurydice myth through major themes, plot development, and even a brief reading of the myth by three of the main characters. This film is a tale of two women who meet and fall in love when one travels to a remote island to paint the portrait of a man whom she is to be wedded to -- a world that is absent of the patriarchal structures that forbid their romance. This film is written and directed by Céline Sciamma and stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. The scene pictured above is the last look that we see of Haenel as if she is in the underworld- when her love (Merlant) must leave the island and continue to a reality that their love cannot exist. This directly parallels the devastating script when Orpheus glances back at Eurydice on their journey from the underworld. Eurydice is prevented from ever leaving the underworld because Orpheus could not fight the urge to look back, despite the strict order from Hades. Just like the myth, only the memories of the love exist, as if being separated from one another is equivalent to the pain of death.