Campion. Jane Campion doesn’t make uninteresting films. The New Zealand auteur has made a total of seven films as of 2020 and five have landed solidly in the archives. The Piano is the main reason she lands in the top 150 here but it isn’t a one-off feat— her other four films here in the archives compliment it quite well.

Best film: The Piano

  • The high-water mark from auteur Jane Campion (her third film- Sweetie and Angel At My Table) thus far—an almost bafflingly original love story shot with stark beauty off the coast in New Zealand.
  • The most striking shots in the film are the landscapes at the beach, characters or the piano shot in isolation
  • long shots, figures and the piano in isolation on the beach
  • Campion’s choice for setting has an incalculable positive effect on the artistic achievement in the film
  • It’s not by a landslide (Raising Arizona, Broadcast News in Hunter’s incredible 1987) but I do have it as Holly Hunter’s strongest performance. She’s mute, but sets the tone with the almost mystic-like voice-over at the beginning (with a quick coda bookend). Needless to say for the length of the film she gives us a mesmerizing pantomime performance. Harvey Keitel and the young Anna Paquin’s performances aren’t far behind in support. And though his accomplishment here isn’t on the level of the three others here, Sam Neill, and his tremendous 1993 (Jurassic Park as well) should be praised.  
  • Paquin is a riot– loud, moody, telling tall-ties and throwing fitsI was perplexed by the lack of nom for Michael Nyman’s luminous score – swirling and smartly tied to the narrative as it begins to get dissonant at the film’s violent climax.
  • Hunter’s character speaks through her piano and her daughter Paquin. And Paquin is a riot– loud, moody, telling tall-ties and throwing fits. Haha.
  • Incredibly rich characterizations. Neill’s character views his new wife as a purchase, an investment, a possession in many ways. He locks her up, he trades her piano for gain—in contrast, Keitel’s character, from the beginning, listens to Hunter on the piano. He has it professionally tuned and that acts a resourceful form of courtship in a way. There’s also a key scene in the film where he cleans the piano naked—again—this is more than just a piano.
  • Hunter’s character, small in stature, strong, sexual
  • Campion sharply uses silent film tactics when casting and doing makeup for Kerry Walker – we see her urinating in one scene, a big mole – a shortcut when casting villains
  • Desaturated colors throughout—almost Gothic with their uniforms, blacks, dark blues and total lack of primaries
  • Extraordinary shots of Paquin walking up the hills like a Wes Anderson miniature in Fantastic Mr. Fox. Campion then tilts the camera on the hill, canted, powerful shot choice
  • The climax is magnificent filmmaking. Neill is wrestling Hunter in the mud, the haunting score pounding, Hunter’s silent wide-eyed stare
  • The climax is magnificent filmmaking. Neill is wrestling Hunter in the mud, the haunting score pounding, Hunter’s silent wide-eyed stare
  • Must-See film
from The Piano– the most striking shots in the film are the landscapes at the beach, characters or the piano shot in isolation
The climax is magnificent filmmaking. Neill is wrestling Hunter in the mud, the haunting score pounding, Hunter’s silent wide-eyed stare

total archiveable films: 5

top 100 films:  0

top 500 films:  1 (The Piano)

top 100 films of the decade: 1 (The Piano)

most overrated: I hate to do it because it is a superb film but The Piano at #162 from the TSPDT consensus is a little too high. I’d move it down.

most underrated: Bright Star. So in 2009 I was not exactly pumped for a new Jane Campion movie. She was coming off back to back disappointments (her only two unarchiveable films) in Holy Smoke and In the Cut in 1999 and 2003 respectively. Bright Star proved Campion to still be a truly remarkable artist. The compositions here are as strong as anything in her work prior if not stronger and it is her most underrated film. It is #18 from 2009 on TSPDT’s 21st century list and should be lower.

Bright Star – compositions here are as strong as anything in her work prior if not stronger and it is her most underrated film
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a stunner from Bright Star
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another museum quality photograph here
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motifs carried out throughout– visual and formal brilliance

gem I want to spotlight : The Portrait of a Lady. This could be in the underrated category as well. It does not have a good critical reputation (45% on RT) and that’s a shame. What happened here is this film had a 3-year wait as the follow-up to The Piano. It happened this way with Shame in 2011 with McQueen. It happened in 2005 with Marie Antoinette and Sofia Coppola and many times before (One from the Heart from Francis Ford Coppola as well as his follow-up to Apocalypse Now). Following up a film that is as good as The Piano is hard to do and The Portrait of a Lady isn’t on the level of The Piano (or Shame, Marie Antoinette or One from the Heart) but still- it is a very strong effort from a clear auteur and deserves a better reputation and fate than it currently has in the eyes of many.

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The Portrait of a Lady – a very strong effort from a clear auteur and deserves a better reputation and fate than it currently has in the eyes of many.

stylistic innovations/traits:  Campion’s films are almost inexplicably unique—creative and unconventional characters with depth and nuance. They are often out of place in the world – something Campion is skilled at showing visually (with askew landscapes and camera angles). Rich characterizations (intelligent women that often border on insanity usually) are present in all of her films. Campion doesn’t move the camera much but those landscapes can be devastatingly gorgeous—when she makes a film they almost always rank among the most beautiful of the year.  

Angel at My Table – creative and unconventional characters with depth and nuance
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often out of place in the world – something Campion is skilled at showing visually (with askew landscapes and camera angles)

top 10

  1. The Piano
  2. Angel At My Table
  3. Bright Star
  4. Sweetie
  5. The Portrait of a Lady

By year and grades

1989- Sweetie R
1990- Angel At My Table
1993- The Piano MS
1996- Portrait of a Lady R
2009- Bright Star R/HR

*MP is Masterpiece- top 1-3 quality of the year film

MS is Must-see- top 5-6 quality of the year film

HR is Highly Recommend- top 10 quality of the year film

R is Recommend- outside the top 10 of the year quality film but still in the archives