The Piano (1993)
Director: Jane Campion
Writer: Jane Campion
Stars: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill
Runtime: 121 min
PLOT: A mute woman and her young daughter are sent to New Zealand for an arranged marriage to a rich landlord, and soon after she falls under the bad eyes of a local worker.
REVIEW: The movie tells the story of repression, shyness and loneliness of a woman.
The movie contains elements of Gothic in it, masking eroticism with mystery and fear in a Victorian setting. The main actress in the film is spectacular with her performance along with the rest of the characters who provide for the film immensely. The touching performance given by the child actor Pacquin as the daughter is one of the most astonishing examples of child acting in film history. The film seems deceptively small, but the characters in it are strong, complex and bold.
The cinematography provided by Stuart Dryburgh in the film enhances the story with its elegance and lack of fanciness, marking the work of Jane Campion. The simple placement of camera shows the audacity of the cinematographer and provides a breath taking visual not by conventional special effects, rather by choosing the unique locations to shoot from.
The movie is one of those rare ones that talks beyond the frames of story or characters. "The Piano" is a magnificently filmed piece of cinema, with the composition of the cinematography letting the viewers witness New Zealand through Ada's eyes. A classic film that must be watched by serious movie fans around the globe.
Source: Roger Ebert
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