Portrait of a Lady on Fire: parents' guide
Best for ages 16 and up. Rated R for some nudity and sexuality.
A slow, gorgeous period romance between two women in 18th-century France, best for older teens who enjoy art films. A painter is hired to secretly paint a reluctant bride-to-be, and the two fall in love. Expect nudity, including bare breasts and a brief glimpse of pubic hair, and love scenes that are intimate but not graphic; in one, the women use a drug said to slow time. A maid's abortion is shown in a quiet, painful scene, and the bride's sister's death is understood to have been a suicide. There's no profanity and almost no violence. The nudity and sexuality are why we suggest 16.
What's in it
Violence
MildNo fights or injuries. At a nighttime bonfire a woman's skirt goes up in flames. A maid's attempts to end her pregnancy and her abortion are depicted, which we cover under frightening.
Language
NoneNo profanity was noted. The dialogue is spare and formal, in French with English subtitles.
Sex and nudity
StrongThe two women kiss and make love in a few scenes, with bare breasts and buttocks in bed. One sits naked by a fire after a swim, pubic hair is briefly visible, a mirror shot is suggestive, and one erotic moment involves fingers in an armpit.
Drinking, drugs and smoking
StrongWine with meals, never to excess, and a pipe passed between two women. In one intimate scene a woman rubs a drug into her lover's armpit; it is said to make time slow down, and the UK ratings board reads it as an opiate.
Scary or intense scenes
ModerateA maid tries to induce a miscarriage with hard running and herbal drinks, then has an abortion; the camera stays on her pained face while a small child holds her hand. The sister's probable suicide looms, and a dash toward a cliff edge plays on that fear.
Sensitive topics
- Suicide
Worth talking about
The women in this story have very little say over marriage, motherhood or their own work. How does the film show those limits, and what do they do with the small freedoms they have?
On our lists
Similar picks around 16+
Checked October 13th, 2026 against Common Sense Media, Rotten Tomatoes, Wikipedia, bbfc.co.uk. The age is our judgment, not an official rating, and every family draws its lines differently: read the notes, not just the number. Spotted something we missed? Tell us. How we rate.