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
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.
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.
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.
top 10
- The Piano
- Angel At My Table
- Bright Star
- Sweetie
- 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
Have you seen her miniseries Top of the lake? I thought it was a Masterpiece of television. Its very cinematic with great visuals. All 6 episodes are written and directed by her so it has great writing and direction.
@M*A*S*H- you’re talking about season 1, right? I haven’t. Maybe I should check it out. Thank you for the recommendation
Yaa, it has just 2 seasons both follow different storylines both have 6 episodes each. But season 1 is wayyy better coz its set in beautiful new Zealand backdrop. It has some of the best visuals and cinematography on tv. Trailers of Holly hunter’s cult, beautiful grassland shots , valleys etc.
News just came out that her next film will premier at Venice after Netflix declined to release it at Cannes (as they either had to release it theatrically in France or show it under out of competition). I’m really excited for this one but I’m keeping my fingers crossed as she had many misses since the piano.
She has also written it and her writing is poetry. The novel on which it’s based is a masterpiece. It’s said to be an epic period psychological western and after looking at some of the images of it’s sets on imdb I’m excited about it’s visuals (kinda reminded me days of heaven) .
I’m also excited about Cumberbatch ‘s character. He’ll play a cold and calculating evil manipulator, trying to destroy Dunst’s character (his brother’s wife). He’s also a closeted homosexual. It could be his career best.
@M*A*S*H– this certainly sounds promising! Thanks for sharing. Have they listed the films set for Venice 2021? If they have, could you share a link?
No they have not. I read a variety article about power of the dog. Although Dune is in official competition according to Wikipedia.
The power of the dog teaser is out. It’s epic. It looks super gorgeous.
https://youtu.be/ELvKuuXdfCU
Venice continues- https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-power-of-the-dog
Watched this week:
In The Cut – not in the archives but not terrible
The Piano – HR/MS (Leaning, HR, first watch since 2019)
The Power of The Dog – MS
“”As of writing this review, The Power of the Dog is the strongest effort I’ve seen so far from 2021 and Jane Campion.
This is a huge achievement for everyone involved. Jonny Greenwood’s score is chilling and when it’s mixed with these beautifully photographed Otago and South Island landscapes it reminds you of There Will Be Blood. Campion’s eye for framing is strong here, she pulls off several Ford-like doorframe shots, each in different settings while also managing to curate the natural light to her will in other scenes.
Also the best acting I’ve seen from Cumberbatch, he has a terrifying presence at first but can also open up without being too melodramatic. Plemmons and Dunst also do great work here.
I also just found the narrative to be extremely compelling. I can’t think of any flaws in it and it pulls you right in. Just like in The Piano Campion is able to perfectly characterize the duelling protagonists with costuming.
Must-see film.””
@Harry- Thank you again for sort of the advance screening here! Excited for this one
Few questions:
1. Have you seen The Power of the Dog?
2. Are you planning to upgrade Bright Star anytime soon?
3. If you do upgrade, will Abbie Cornish be one of the best of the year?
@M*A*S*H- I have not seen The Power of the Dog- hopefully getting to it this week. I have not had a chance to revisit Bright Star yet or Abbie Cornish yet.
Is An Angel at my Table upgraded or is it still a R/HR? Because was ahead of both Bright Star and Portrait of a Lady and they are both MS and HR/ MS respectively so An Angel at my Table should be a MS film.
@M*A*S*H- Good question- so this page is nearly three old- I have been able to get to a few Campion films since then (and before the 1996 and 2009 pages) and correct the appraisal for Portrait of a Lady and Bright Star
I’m glad that i not only predicted that you’d ultimately upgrade Bright Star but also hold Abbie Cornish’s work in very high regard.