Well, I saw the preview for this film in London and I was most intrigued, for I had previously read the novel (also written by director Jane Campion along with her sister Anna). The book was enjoyable enough to read, although there are some places where there is a certain lack of style, making you occasionally wonder why such a book was written.
However, from seeing the movie it was fairly obvious the book was mainly written for the film adaptation as a lot of the story's aspects work much better on screen, and so it is consequently much better as a film.
From the film's superbly portrayed credits, one can tell that this picture has a certain unique quality absent from mainstream cinema. It begins with a 20-year-old Australian Ruth Barron (Kate Winslet) and her time in India as a member of a religious sect led by a Guru, "Baba". Her deeply worried family back in Australia send her mother (Julie Hamilton) to find her in India, only to unsuccessfully attempt to bring her back to Australia under the false news that Ruth's father (Tim Robertson) is ill and dying. The only reason why Ruth returns is due to her mother having a severe asthma attack and her having to be taken back home in medical care on a plane. Once arrived, Ruth begins to settle in to her old family, but only temporarily. Soon she discovers her father's true condition, and that her family simply lured her to Australia in order to banish her from the Indian cult. What's more, the family have payed a large sum of money to a cult de-programmer from the United States called PJ Waters (Harvey Keitel). His plan is to mentally break down Ruth in order for her to lose her faith in the sect. He is given some time alone with her in a hut in the middle of the desert, it's only then when things begin to really get out of hand...
"Holy Smoke" is a darkly comic tale with some great acting, its tragi-comic style working very well. Several aspects of the book are much improved here.
The film brings out the more humorous side of the events. The most comic part of the film is Ruth's Australian working class family, hilariously and mercilessly portrayed as ignorant half-wits. Many of the film's dialogue is a lot funnier on film compared to the book because of the crass Australian accent (absent from the book) behind it. This illustrated by one excellent line near the beginning of the film in which a man introduces the idea of de-programming to Ruth's family and in the middle of his speech he talks about how he can wake up and say to himself every morning, "I'm fat, mate." Also, Harvey Keitel's cool, relaxed American character PJ Waters contrasts very well with the Australian backdrop, one of my favourite lines of the film being when he wakes up next to Ruth having reluctantly slept with her the previous night. His voice-over heralds the new morning with the words, "Day Three.....S***!" But not all of the film is comic; indeed, there are some scenes in the picture which are almost harrowing, one of the most memorable scenes being that of Kate Winslet wondering naked across the desert in the middle of the night, totally degraded and brainwashed, eventually urinating in front of the shocked PJ.
The film is a picture that simply has to be seen by anyone who has a reasonably good sense of black humour. There are outstanding performances from Keitel and Winslet, and a strong supporting cast, with some good performances from Sophie Lee as Ruth's sister and Pam Grier in her brief appearance as PJ's girlfriend. The soundtrack is also impressive, with a wonderful laid-back style. Overall, the film's blending with pathos and humour makes it very memorable and affective. One to watch!
However, from seeing the movie it was fairly obvious the book was mainly written for the film adaptation as a lot of the story's aspects work much better on screen, and so it is consequently much better as a film.
From the film's superbly portrayed credits, one can tell that this picture has a certain unique quality absent from mainstream cinema. It begins with a 20-year-old Australian Ruth Barron (Kate Winslet) and her time in India as a member of a religious sect led by a Guru, "Baba". Her deeply worried family back in Australia send her mother (Julie Hamilton) to find her in India, only to unsuccessfully attempt to bring her back to Australia under the false news that Ruth's father (Tim Robertson) is ill and dying. The only reason why Ruth returns is due to her mother having a severe asthma attack and her having to be taken back home in medical care on a plane. Once arrived, Ruth begins to settle in to her old family, but only temporarily. Soon she discovers her father's true condition, and that her family simply lured her to Australia in order to banish her from the Indian cult. What's more, the family have payed a large sum of money to a cult de-programmer from the United States called PJ Waters (Harvey Keitel). His plan is to mentally break down Ruth in order for her to lose her faith in the sect. He is given some time alone with her in a hut in the middle of the desert, it's only then when things begin to really get out of hand...
"Holy Smoke" is a darkly comic tale with some great acting, its tragi-comic style working very well. Several aspects of the book are much improved here.
The film brings out the more humorous side of the events. The most comic part of the film is Ruth's Australian working class family, hilariously and mercilessly portrayed as ignorant half-wits. Many of the film's dialogue is a lot funnier on film compared to the book because of the crass Australian accent (absent from the book) behind it. This illustrated by one excellent line near the beginning of the film in which a man introduces the idea of de-programming to Ruth's family and in the middle of his speech he talks about how he can wake up and say to himself every morning, "I'm fat, mate." Also, Harvey Keitel's cool, relaxed American character PJ Waters contrasts very well with the Australian backdrop, one of my favourite lines of the film being when he wakes up next to Ruth having reluctantly slept with her the previous night. His voice-over heralds the new morning with the words, "Day Three.....S***!" But not all of the film is comic; indeed, there are some scenes in the picture which are almost harrowing, one of the most memorable scenes being that of Kate Winslet wondering naked across the desert in the middle of the night, totally degraded and brainwashed, eventually urinating in front of the shocked PJ.
The film is a picture that simply has to be seen by anyone who has a reasonably good sense of black humour. There are outstanding performances from Keitel and Winslet, and a strong supporting cast, with some good performances from Sophie Lee as Ruth's sister and Pam Grier in her brief appearance as PJ's girlfriend. The soundtrack is also impressive, with a wonderful laid-back style. Overall, the film's blending with pathos and humour makes it very memorable and affective. One to watch!