during a 2020 interview with VoxGone over the parallels between Sciamma “Titanic” and “Portrait of a Lady on Fire”, both primarily told in flashbacks and dealing with forbidden love. The producer believes that the big reason behind the success of “Titanic” is that it is a love story of “equality and liberation”.
Like “Titanic”, “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” tells the story of two people who are romantically involved but cannot be together. In the previous movie, Rose (Kate Winslet) has a fiancé and her aristocratic status separates her from being with Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). In the second, of course, there is the class divide and the fact that both are women living in a world that has not yet learned to understand them.
You knew right from the start that both love stories are unlikely to have a happy ending. When talking about “Titanic” Sciamma, called the movie “totally weird” She points out that DiCaprio’s appearance was “androgynous” at the time. Additionally, Winslet and DiCaprio were not well-known stars, so “there was no power dynamic between them.” Moreover, the filmmaker explained why he believes “Titanic” was a success and says it’s a serious love story.
“DiCaprio and Kate Winslet were unrecognizable – not stars – so there was no power dynamic between them. If you look at the sex scene in Titanic, she’s at the top. She’s totally fragile and insecure. I think it was a huge success because it’s a love story of equality and liberation.”