May 20th: HOLY SMOKE! (Jane Campion, 1999)

An Australian woman joins an Indian religious sect, and her family hires a "deprogrammer" to challenge her new lifestyle and beliefs.

Writer-director Jane Campion was born in New Zealand, and studied anthropology and painting before changing over to filmmaking in the early 1980s. She had early success with short films, and her feature debut Sweetie was recognized at the Independent Spirit Awards and the Australian Film Institute.

Campion's big breakthrough came with her 1993 film The Piano, making her the first (and only) woman to direct a winner of the top prize Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the second woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for direction (her screenplay went on to win its category). After a poorly-received adaptation of Henry James' Portrait Of A Lady, Campion scaled back for a contemporary original script co-written with her sister Anna.

Fresh off her major success in Titanic is star Kate Winslet, joined by Harvey Keitel (Taxi Driver, Pulp Fiction), who had previously worked with Campion on The Piano. Various Australian veterans round out the cast, with a special appearance from Pam Grier (Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown).

The film was shot on location in New Delhi and Pushkar in India, as well as in Sydney and areas of South Australia. Her cinematographer was Dion Beebe (Oscar winner for Chicago), with a score contributed by David Lynch's longtime collaborator Angelo Badalementi.

In addition to drawing from her own life, Campion researched various religious gurus and cults, and maintains an even-handed, nonjudgmental position in her portrayal. As in all of her films, she focuses on a female protagonist who comes up against controlling patriarchy, but this one goes even further in its psychosexual examination, as well as that of belief systems.

Holy Smoke! premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and opened to mixed reviews. It was a modest success in Australia.

Running time is approx. 2 hrs.