Céline Sciamma had Titanic in mind when she portrayed a lady on fire

During a 2020 interview with Vox, Sciamma discussed the parallels between "Titanic" and "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," both of which are mostly told in flashbacks and address the 'forbidden love. The filmmaker believes that one of the main reasons for the success of "Titanic" is that it was a love affair with "equality and emancipation".

Like "Titanic", "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" tells the story of two people who have a romantic relationship but cannot be together. In the old film, Rose (Kate Winslet) has a fiancé, and then her status as an aristocrat separates her from being with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). In the latter, there is class division, of course, and the fact that they are both women living in a world that has not yet learned to understand them.

From the start, you know that there is little chance that the two love stories will end well. Speaking of "Titanic," Sciamma described the movie as "totally weird," pointing out that DiCaprio's appearance was "androgynous" at the time. Plus, Winslet and DiCaprio weren't well-known stars, so "there were no power dynamics between them." Plus, the filmmaker opened up about why she thought 'Titanic' was a hit - and she credits it to her heartfelt romance.

"DiCaprio and Kate Winslet weren't famous - not stars - so there was no power dynamic between them. For example, if you watch the sex scene in Titanic, she's on top. He's the one who's been totally fragile and insecure. I think it's been a huge success because it's a love story with equality and emancipation."