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During a backpacking holiday in India, Ruth, a young Australian woman, experiences a spiritual awakening at an ashram. Convinced that she has found peace, harmony, and purpose, she decides to stay on with her newfound guru, much to the horror of her family in Australia. Luring her back to suburban Sydney on false pretenses, they employ the services of P.J., an American 'cult-exiter'. The deprogramming encounter that takes place over three days in a shack on an isolated outback farm becomes a battle of wits and wills over spirituality and sexuality.
Returning to the themes of dysfunctional family life that Jane Campion focused on in her first feature film Sweetie, the Campion sisters employ cultural stereotypes to contrast the exotic appeal of Eastern spiritualism for the idealistic Ruth with her family's lack of understanding and crassness. The narrative's central concern with the search for the meaning of life is juxtaposed with moments of high melodrama and with comedic elements drawn from the repertoire of cliched Australian 'types' that were a commonplace of Australian cinema in the nineties. Though Campion clearly demonstrated her cinematic and technical proficiency as a director, some critics consider the story to be somewhat clumsy and overambitious.
'In the half-light, a black man’s hand strokes Ruth’s neck. She flicks him away like an insect, oblivious to the sensual energy she radiates. This is how filmmaker Jane Campion introduces Ruth (Kate Winslet), the central character of her 1999 film, Holy Smoke! This opening scene, of Ruth on a bus amidst the colour and vigour of a busy Indian city can be read not only as representing an experience common to Western women abroad in Southeast Asia but also as emphasising that Ruth is a luminous and irresistible beauty. This chapter begins by outlining the role India plays in Holy Smoke! (the film and the novel), then gives an overview of what makes this an Australian film (despite being made with international stars and money), followed by a discussion of how Campion uses the luminousness of her film’s central character to explore Western female experience,and finally, examines how the film explores ideas of how men and women might exist together in the world—or, what it is to be human.' (Introduction)
Jane Campion
New York (City)
:
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group
,
2008
Z1786085
2008
single work
biography
'Jane Campion, one of the most celebrated auters of modern cinema, was the first female director to be awarded the prestigious Palme d'Or. In this first detailed account of Jane Campion's career, Verhoeven examines how contemporary film directors 'fashion' themselves as auters- through their personal interactions with the media, in their choice of projects, emphasis on particular filmmaking techniques and finally in the promotion of their films. Through analysis of key scenes from Campion's films such as The Piano, In the Cut, Sweetie and Holy Smoke, Verhoeven introduces the key debates surrounding this controversial and often experimental director. Features a career overview, a filmography and an extended interview with Campion on her approach to creativity.' (Publisher's blurb)
