It is the potent combination of small, real moments that build to make A Portrait of Love a slow-burning heartbreaker. Along the way, we are immersed in the life, love, and creative process of Australian artist Craig Ruddy, through the lens of his partner of twenty years, Roberto Meza Mont.
Best known for winning Australia’s prestigious Archibald Prize in 2004 for his charcoal portrait of Indigenous actor David Gulpilil, titled “Two Worlds”, over the course of the film, we see numerous large-scale works develop with sensual strokes and bright colours from initial sketches with life models, through to finished pieces in Ruddy’s studio overlooking the lush countryside. Trigger warning: there are a lot of large snakes in terrifying close up!
Filmmaker Molly Reynolds (My Name is Gulpilil) assembles the personal footage, self-shot by Roberto, into a celebration of everyday gay love and the idyllic community of Australia’s Northern Rivers region. Narrative-less, but never unfocused, A Portrait of Love serves as an art documentary and a gentle drama.
We travel from the couples’ home in “paradise” to exhibitions around the world, filled with friends, family, parties, and creativity. Aided by occasional moments of narration by Roberto, the film carries the audience through their lives together. An almost ethereal sense of dread begins to seep in as Reynolds navigates the footage with an assured eye.
In many ways, A Portrait of Love plays out as a found-footage horror film of domestic proportions. For all the good times and joy on screen, there is an ever-present anticipation of something seismic on the way. This is a film after all, not an evening watching someone’s home movies.
The bringing together of all of these observed, intimate moments makes the film’s closing scenes a gut-wrenching reminder of the loss many faced over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. By refusing to assert her own narrative on the footage, Reynolds allows this poignant story of love to reveal itself to the audience, and the film is far stronger for it.
By Chad Armstrong
A Portrait of Love receives its world premiere at Queer Screen’s 31st Mardi Gras Film Festival on Monday, February 19th, 2024, followed by a Q&A with director Molly Reynolds and Roberto Meza Mont. The 2024 Mardi Gras Film Festival runs in cinemas in Sydney February 15th – 29th and on-demand Australia-wide March 1st – 11th.
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