| Smoked Poison (by Chrysanthepop) |
| Jane Campion takes us to dark territory again in 'Holy Smoke' but this time with a touch of comedy. I am surprised at the negative response so many have claiming that it is anti-feminist blah blah blah or that it is a comedy with no substance. On the contrary, I find 'Holy Smoke' to be a provocative piece full of substance.The refreshing novel concept is pretty daring and Campion balances both dark humour and intensity. She tackles various relevant themes such as respect and care within the family the mother is the only one who seems to be concerned about what happened to her <more> |
| Brilliantly crafted by a superb director! (by diane-34) |
| The most unHollywood and unUSA movie imaginable because it concerned the sacred-cow of Christianity and the underbelly of male/female relationships that are, of course, never dealt with by films out of Hollywood.Jane Campion's direction was perhaps even better than the reputation she established with The Piano. Her shot selection and integration with the cast was marvelous because she melded the details of life in the out-back with the complexity of her story. To begin the film in the crowded tangle of Poona, India and then contrastingly develop the story in the emptiness of out-back <more> |
| See It For Yourself! (by scarlett_belle) |
| Don't be put off by criticisms that Campion is confused about her message, or that this film has a feminist agenda. People are too quick to judge and too quick to categorize.This is not a movie about a woman triumphing over a man, but about two overconfident, pretentious people who break each other. Each one forces the other to face the lies he/she is living. Keitel's "exit counselor" fancies himself a doctor to lost souls, but is really a sex-driven egomaniac who cares more about his reputation than his patients. Winslet's starry-eyed cult follower believes she's <more> |
| Holy Smoke deserves is 9.1 rating by filmunlimited readers (by julia-49) |
| I chose to see Holy Smoke as I've yet to be disappointed by Jane Campion, Harvey Keitel or Kate Winslet. That hasn't changed. The Campion sisters have written a clever, funny and subtle story of how badly a family can bungle their response when their religion of choice is passed over by one of their own in favour of something they find a little too exotic and scary. It has discreet moments of parody for observant viewers that shows up the shallowness of valuing one faith tradition over another. On the surface it's a hugely funny portrait of a hypocritical conservative family's <more> |
| In search of the Truth... (by LeSamourai) |
| Holy Smoke! follows two lost souls Winslet and Keitel over the course of three days. The Winslet character, Ruth Baron, is seduced by a not-so-handsome guru on a trip to India, and she intends to marry him. Eventually, her family tricks her into coming home and hires a famous "cult-exiter" named P.J. Waters Keitel . Keitel's entrance, backed by Neil Diamond's "I Am, I Said," is priceless. Once Ruth agrees to the three-day exiting because she doesn't believe that her views will be dislodged , debates on religion, truth, and sex commence between Ruth and P.J. <more> |
| Crazy With A Core Message (by Rodk) |
| I was in Karlovy Vary in June, 2000 and needed a break from Czech so I went to see Holy Smoke at a 5 p.m. showing. The Kino Cas required a minimum of 8 people to buy tickets or they would not show the movie. The crowd numbered about 12. I enjoyed Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet's roles very much. Just when you think that you've met the most dysfunctional family in your personal experiences, here is one to top them all. Kate Winslet's family is in need of a "deprogrammer" to rescue their daughter from the clutches of Eastern Transcendentalism and they call on Harvey <more> |
| Can Kate deprogram the deprogrammer? (by DeeNine-2) |
| Kate Winslet plays Ruth Barron, a young Australian woman who goes to India and becomes smitten with the touch of a charismatic guru, so much so that she changes her name and forsakes her family to stay in India and attend to and worship the guru. Her parents become alarmed. Her mother goes to India to trick her into coming back to Australia so that she can be deprogrammed by a professional from the United States that they have hired P.J. Waters as played by Harvey Keitel .What director Jane Campion does with this once familiar theme is most interesting. She puts the deprogrammer to the test, <more> |
| Wildly creative, A+ for daring (by ptclear) |
| This film is highly misunderstood. Reading some of the reviews I found it hard to believe they were related to the film I'd just seen. This is so much more than a battle of the sexes, it covers lots of ground: boundary in therapy, the legitimacy of mystical experience, the complexities of family dysfunction, the ingenuity of the human spirit when heart and individuality are threatened. I regret that many viewers and reviews seem to have seen the humorous aspect of the film as an indication that the film's themes are lacking in substance. This is a worthy film. I regret that it's <more> |
| Lady Jane Finally Finds a Formula (by tedg) |
| One wonders what motivates Ms Campion. Like Spike Lee, she seems to have one thing to say, and somehow believes that film is the right place. Well, never mind. In this particular film, she has reached me. For film to be good, it has to place me where I would not go, and change me. This time, I was swept up in this seemingly simple drama: the wilds, unknown motives, undirected ideals, misplaced trust. The images were unique, and the acting superb. I saw Kate in Hamlet and wondered if this was the same woman I had seen in Titanic. Her Ophelia, a challenge for anyone, was delicately layered. <more> |
