Holy Smoke (1999)
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Duration: 115 minuten
Country:
United States / Australia
Directed by: Jane Campion
Stars: Harvey Keitel, Kate Winslet and Pam Grier
IMDb score:
5,9 (16.535)
Releasedate: 4 September 1999
Holy Smoke plot
"He had only one thing on his mind... but so did she!"
Australian Ruth (Winslet) travels to India with a girlfriend where he falls under the spell of guru Chidaatma Baba and decides to marry him. Her family does not understand and anxiously tries to take her away from Baba's influence. They decide to hire the famous 'cult-exiter' PJ Waters (Keitel) to deprogram her again, with intense sessions.
Actors and actresses
Ruth Barron
PJ Waters
Mum
Yvonne
Robbie
Tim
Dad
Yanni
Puss
Bill-Bill
Reviews & comments
Fran
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- 1953 messages
- 1732 votes
The movie started pretty well. India was depicted very realistically and beautifully. I liked the moment when Ruth's mother comes to India and the poor woman ends up in the middle of the Indian hectic. It was very well shown how confrontational and busy these kinds of cities can be.
I also thought the Australian outback was beautifully portrayed in this film. Funny were the parts in which that blonde bimbo (forgot her name) gets a hyperventilation attack and PJ shouts "keep breathing, keep breathing. When the attack degenerates into a "blowjob" he still calls "keep breathing". The sheep in the living room with the bowls of crisps on his back, that made me laugh too, no matter how stupid.
I liked the second half of the movie considerably. Although the game between Kate and Harvey is very strong in this movie and in the end especially when Ruth wins the power game from PJ and then he completely breaks through his baricades and loses himself completely. Some moments in the film it all became too much in terms of vagueness.
I really liked the very last ending when she lays on his knees in front of her and shouts that she is love. Suddenly she was very much confronted with herself, as she herself was in the cult. The part on the way back in the car when she looks at him and still feels the love in her to take him in her arms was also very beautiful.
Just this: what a beautiful woman Kate Winslet is! This movie gets a *4 from me. But it has to be a film that you have to be open to at the moment. Not one to look between your nose and lips.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Film Pegasus (moderator films)
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- 31491 messages
- 5627 votes
A fascinating film that gets off to a good start. The story turns in the right direction and with the acting performances there follows a story that is between drama, humor and an atmosphere of documentary. Later on, the director apparently doesn't always have the reins in his hands, although I understand where he wants to go. Ruth becomes convinced by PJ, but then the sword seems to waver to the other side. Ruth is no longer the unstable person under the yoke of the cult. The personal influences on PJ and the other characters now come from other sources: infatuation, sexuality, religion, ...
Nice soundtrack and some sublime scenes, although it sometimes struggles with the script in the 2nd half and it comes across as a bit messy. Still an interesting film that is worth watching.
Translated from Dutch · View original
dvdcrusher
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- 626 messages
- 518 votes
Bizarre story with pleasantly disturbed people, but well filmed. I'd like Keitel's high-paying job too. Kate Winslet is a beautiful actress of which I have actually seen too few films. Not a real fan of Keitel but here he does an excellent job. 4 stars
Translated from Dutch · View original
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