Holy Smoke

Holy Smoke is a great idea for a film, as Harvey Keitel is brought to Australia, to "deprogram" Kate Winslet, who has become a member of a cult in India... Good concept, bad film... The movie goes south once Keitel and Winslet hook up, there's no chemistry, but Winslet walks around naked and Keitel dons a dress for the last 20 minutes of the film... Too wierd for its own good, and never seems to make a point... Awful script, and two very good actors are made to look very stupid...

This movie is aptly titled, a major smoke and mirrors job with no real meaning and no real meat. Winslet's performance isn't bad, and Keitel is decent in a completely unconvincing characterization. Its difficult to believe a man who has allegedly deprogrammed 189 previous 'clients', then suddenly ends up in Australia without his girlfriend and drops his pants for anything female, including the girl he's being paid $10K to "help". This movie could have worked, but its slow and ponderous right up until the sexual congress convenes, and then it only becomes more preposterous. I'm not sure what sort of strange demons Jane Campion has in her closet, but they aren't doing a very good job of guiding her art. Just like "The Piano", this movie completely lost me and comes off as some sort of indecipherable post-feminist statement.

The supporting cast is awful, which might not be their fault, but the fact that they are all cast as wooden, emotionally immature, alcoholic Australians. If I were from down-under, I'd be offended by the stereotypical portrayals. The end of the movie goes from rediculous to nice and tidy with a pretty bow on top...very weak. Essentially, this movie is a vehicle to get Kate Winslet naked and Harvey Kietel in a dress, so its probably not going to do too badly at the box office. But, if you want to see anything deeper than a beautiful actress nude and a decent actor cross-dressing, avoid "Holy Smoke".

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 daughter in India while the father is totally indifferent), sexual manipulation, spirituality vs brainwash, power control and so on. The viewer is totally absorbed on how the de-programmer 'saves' Ruth but things take unexpected turns and we start questioning who exactly this PJ Waters is. The relationship between PJ and Ruth gradually becomes reminiscent of that between Lolita and Humbert (from Kubrick's 'Lolita'). The dysfunctional family is portrayed in a funny light but the characters's (especially the women's) despair and struggle is evident such as Mom being concerned about her daughter and Yvonne who is unhappy with her sex life. Campion, with the help of the actors, creates this whole mysterious atmosphere through the characters. We are given some nice glimpses of the isolated dry Australian landscape.

The performances are terrific. Kate Winslet, even though occasionally switches back to her own British accent, acts phenomenally. She already made a brave choice by choosing such a risky role and the actress just shows how comfortable she is in the skin of her character and mesmerizes the viewer. Harvey Keitel does nothing short of a fine job but he is obviously overshadowed by Winslet. The supporting cast, especially Sophie Lee (as Ruth's desperate and sleazy sister-in-law) and Julie Hamilton (as the concerned and loving mother).

'Holy Smoke' is a well-made and brave film. Clearly it is not for everyone. There are very few movies that are both funny and thought-provoking. 'Holy Smoke' is one such captivating film.

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 not getting its due.

Holy Smoke has two good performances from Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel. It also has some nice cinematography and some interesting visual tricks, but apart from that, the film is kind of a mixed bag. The story concerns Winslet's family trying to break her from the hold of a religious sect in India. Harvey Keitel is called in by the family to break Winslet and return her to her family. What follows is a three day odyssey that contains an odd transformation from both characters. I'm not sure how I felt after seeing the film, to tell the truth I'm still not sure what the film was saying.