Rating: 
Summary: Feminism, Comedy, Sex, and Kate Winslet
Review: In this sometimes whimsical but always entertaining film, veteran film director Jane Campion tries to do more than she actually does, ie: create a modern feminist classic, but it's ok, because she was aiming high, and the arrow lands right about on the bull's eye anyway. At least I think it does! I can't be completely sure.Holy Smoke! is a bit of an off-centered and whimsical film, mixing silly-esque comedy, drama and a pseudo-documentary style together in a way which doesn't always make sense, or even necessarily work very well. The film bears some resemblance to 1999's "Hideous Kinky," which featured another knock-out performance by Winslet, and which also dealt with issues of identity and religion and the implications of being a completely "free-spirited" woman, ie: how in focusing solely on finding enlightenment for ourselves, we may be cutting ourselves off from the very thing that fills our lives with meaning and maturity, ie: our relationships with others. In Holy Smoke!, Winslet plays Ruth Barron, a headstrong, Australian teenager hungry for meaning in her life. While Ruth is away in India, her family learns that Ruth may have fallen prey to a religious guru. In order to suppress their fears, they hire "famed American cult deprogrammer" PJ Waters, played by Harvey Keitel. Once Ruth gets pulled back to Australia and meets the ultra-macho PJ,sparks fly like crazy! Waters is being paid by Ruth's family to "deprogram" her, and is thus in a position of authority over her. But she's not a stupid girl, and by no means is she a weak one! She fights back with all her might from having her identity, and the truths which she feels she has discovered in her travels, taken from her. Isolated from the world at large and Ruth's family for three days in a shack in a remote part of the Australian outback, a battle between the two ensues. For power, for each other, for themselves. In the process, an unlikely relationship forms between them which both know can't last for long, but which is explosive in its power to change them both forever. By the end of this gender-bending shocker, PJ, (who Campion obviously wants us to see as taking on the "female" role, he is, after all, in a dress, and wearing lipstick, which Ruth had put on him), has surrendered fully to Ruth, only to be scorned. He has been seduced, raped in a sense, of his identity, his hard metallic shell, and he lies, covered in dust and blood, a soldier wounded in battle. He sees a mirage of Ruth, waving to him in the heat of the desert sun. Is she his savior? Or is the search for a religion/spirituality external to onesself always the giving up of one's own power? Campion seems to ask these, and other questions, but answering them proves more difficult, chimeric. As Ruth says in a postcard one year after their tryst, "Something happened out there, didn't it?" "Yes," PJ responds, "and in case you didn't notice, it almost killed me." And she finally says it, "I don't know why, but I think I love you." Respect and love were the unlikely offspring of their tearing each other apart. They were both involved in the war, between each other, between the sexes, and they have forged a bond which can't be broken upon surviving it and coming out the other end. In the end, Ruth is shocked and disgusted at the *power* which she finds bottled up inside her, the power which she throws shamelessly at PJ in a desparate attempt at showing that she too is strong, she too is OK, she too knows "the Truth." Through her journey with PJ, she realizes that his words to her, "Be Kind," were all she was looking for, and how miserably she had failed in doing just that. It is in this way that she comes one step closer to being the independent, caring woman she has wanted all this time to be. By all means, this is a feminist film, and it may catch some people off guard with its extreme portrayals of vulnerability and power. However, the intensity and depth of this film is taken down a notch every now and again with bits of comic relief provided by Ruth's hilarious dysfunctional family, especially early on in the film. The voluptuous Winslet is positively luminous in this film. She lights up the screen like there's no tomorrow. Men and women alike will be transfixed.
Rating: 
Summary: A provocative and brave effort from all parties
Review: In a word this film is extraordinary. The actors Ms. Winslet and Mr.Keitel, together with the director Ms.Campion are to be commended for delving so deeply into such provocative material. Ms. Winslet especially continues to astound and proves that she is like a young Meryl Streep for the wild, dangerous, and brave choices she makes. Go back and rent HEAVENLY CREATURES after this, skip TITANIC, and get ready for her performance as the Marquis de Sade's chambermaid in Q. The supporting cast of mainly australian actors are extremely funny and touching in some all-too-brief scenes. One hopes all of the parties will make another film together....soon. Reward yourself with a first rate, thoughtful, fiercly independant film. Nothing about this film is predictable. Desire and obsession in the australian outback. Py jimminy, what more could ya ask for mate?
Rating:
Summary: Wanting Love Without Giving IT
Review: Brilliant movie. The denizens of the modern world are hungry for love, and in its absence, they fill the void with unintimate sex, gurus, powertrips and consumerism. In the case of this movie, we see that both Keitel and Winslet are looking to fill this void in their own ways. Winslet with starry-eyed guru worship; Keitel's sex addiction to younger women to distract him from the onslaught of age. Though Keitel is by profession a de-programmer, we see that he is just as "programmed" as his patient. In the end though, Keitel and Winslet succeed in delivering each other from ersatz love based on "mauvaise foi" and find the real thing. The secret to love is really loving...not waiting passively to be loved. This latter seems to be Campion's message
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing and erotic, Kate Winslet is outstanding!
Review: In Jane Campion's 'Holy Smoke' Kate Winslet (Titanic, Heavenly Creatures, Jude) plays Ruth Barron, a young Australian who found religious awakening during her trip in India. What started as a prank to visit an ashram, she fell under the influence of an Indian guru. Now known as "Nazni", she now plans to stay and become a devotee. Once news reaches home her anxious family desperately lures her back home to suburbia in Australia. Meanwhile her family has hired a macho American "religious exiter" twice Ruth's age named PJ Waters (Harvey Keitel). This is where electricity begins. Don't get me wrong, the film is hardly about religion or India at all. The first 15 minutes of the movie is just an accessory that helps the movie move into the primary subject of the film: The offbeat relationship between Ruth and PJ and what goes through the three day deprogramming session in the middle of the Australian Outback. This is a flawed film, and a bit unreal at times and very disturbing and offbeat, but I just think: When have you've seen, or yet, when again are you going to see again a young gorgeous Australian woman battle-it-all-out with an American macho twice her age in the middle of the Australian Outback?? Especially the way Kate Winslet and Harvey Keitel ended up discovering each other in many ways. Kate Winslet was at her truly best so far. She was the perfect actress to portray Ruth. Winslet presented Ruth as a young, stubborn, confused, but yet strong, intelligent grown woman. Here, Winslet has given the performance of her career. She was daring and beautiful and truly deserved more recognition that she received. I know many of actresses wouldn't be game or courageous enough for what Kate Winslet accomplished successfully in this film. Except, Harvey Keitel was too slow and not quick enough for Winslet. She stole every scene they were in together. I found the actors who portrayed Ruth's family pretty hilarious, but particularly Sophie Lee (Ruth's risqué sister-in-law) and Julie Hamilton (Ruth's concerned Mum). The rest of the family just came out as too goofy and stereotypical. I also was relived that they didn't choose your typical Hollywood actress to play Ruth, thank god! Besides supreme performances (Winslet specifically), 'Holy Smoke' was helped by a very strong visual impact: The Australian Outback. I never knew how a vast, desert could be so sizzling beautiful and tempting, especially with Kate Winslet in it wearing a sari, what a scene! The Indian-theme musical score was also a big role in the film. 'Holy Smoke' is not an easy film to seat through, and many have disliked it. Maybe they expect something different and sure some of the scenes were shocking and could've been cut. But just come to see this movie with a good and open-minded mood and you'll see how 'Holy Smoke' is filled with amazing human talent.
Rating:
Summary: strangely beautiful
Review: This is a strangely beautiful film- a film as mesmerizing as the religious ecstasy that touches Ruth and the romantic love that seizes PJ. The Campion sisters are making an interesting comparison here, a comparison from which the movie takes its name: that there is a similar captivating force in both romantic love and religion, and that both are like getting smoke in your eyes. Rationality becomes secondary to overwhelming conviction. This film had so many finely wrought moments that I occasionally exclaimed out loud, "Brilliant!" One such moment is when Harvey Keitel's character, PJ Waters, the cult exiter, swaggers into the film via the Sydney airport with his tight jeans, black shirt, cowboy boots, and sunglasses. We see a gaggle of people surrounding the luggage carts as they make futile attempts to dislodge them from one another. The crowd separates as the gum-chewing PJ approaches and effortlessly extracts the carts, artfully twirling them toward grateful and awed travellers. We understand instantly that this is a man to be reckoned with. Yes, I cried watching this film. But not only for the pity I felt for Ruth and P.J., but for the film's general excellence. Acting like this made me wonder at the whole of film making, made me feel proud at human accomplishments. Winslet gives us a Ruth that is rich, multi-layered, powerful and vulnerable at the same time. Keitel is a courageous actor: you'll know what I mean when you see the red dress. These are first-rate performances, and I feel grateful to have witnessed them.
Rating: 
Summary: Holy Stink
Review: Wow, what a truly bad movie. I was shocked to read the critical acclaim over this film after suffering through it. A surprisingly bad movie considering the top talent: Director Jane Champion, Actors Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet. Unless you have some deep desire to see Harvey Keitel in a dress I'd recommend you steer clear of this awful film.
Rating:
Summary: Moved by grace....
Review: One either likes the Chapman and Campion films or one doesn't. That may seem a simplistic statement, but I cannot discern a demographic pattern. Women I thought might like their films don't and while some men do, many don't. Chapman/Campion films are provocative, off-beat, and pure works of art. Think of it -- "Sweetie", "Angel at My Table", "The Piano", "Portrait of a Lady" and now "Holy Smoke" -- what a lineup. If you didn't like their earlier films, you probably won't like this one. Harvey Keitel, and Kate Winslet do an amazing job of acting in this film. It could not have been easy dramatize a number of the scenes as there are embarrassing moments for both. Winslet plays Ruth Barron, a young Australian girl who has found religion in India. Her alarmed parents send for a cult deprogrammer -- an older man named P.J.Waters played by Harvey Keitel. Most of the film centers on how PJ goes about trying to deprogram Barron. Campion has a wry sense of humor, and much of this film is probably tongue and cheek. For example, picture Pam Grier (PJ's partner-deprogramer) singing the "Our Father" at a critical moment preceding an apparent miracle! It's probably fruitless to try to decode Campion's films completely. Like any work of art, they speak to different people in different ways. To me, they are inspirational. And, I love her films because they are about women and their quest for love, fulfillment, acceptance and salvation. Does PJ succeed in breaking Ruth and/or restoring her by exposing the shallowness of her new-found convictions? Does Ruth succeed in retaining her faith or does she find it? It is said an inward spiritual change is often accompanied by an outward sign. This is a complex film about inward spiritual change, faith, salvation, miracles and love. In the end both PJ and Ruth undergo a sea-change. It may be they are saved by each other or by divine grace.
Rating:
Summary: Kate Winslet is brilliant
Review: This is a movie about power, sexuality, and courage. Ruth (Kate Winslet) goes to India and joins a cult, then is brought back to Australia by her mother and the family calls in Harvey Keitel to "deprogram her". At the first, the deprogramming makes us uneasy. Ruth (Kate Winslet's mother) tells her that her father is dying (he's not) in order to get her back from India, and then all sorts of emotional blackmail is used to get Ruth to go through the deprogramming. Harvey Keitel's character is not an attractive one. He is American and arrogant, and we watch him laying out his program in order to crush Ruth's spirit. Ruth has more strength to her than we thought possible! What's more, strength is related to her ability to throw herself whole-heartedly into ways of thinking and being that more conventional people are afraid of. This movie really moved me, because it seems to be a comment on strength and weakness of character in a way that I've never seen described before. The events are weird and not realistic, but they throw light on patterns of relationships between people that is the most real thing I have ever seen on the screen. The sexuality part between Kate and Harvey was disturbing and fairly raw. It confronted full-on the issue of power and sexuality from a female perspective, which I fully appreciated. Thankyou Jane Campion (and sister who helped write this)! This is an area of experience that is common and yet taboo, carving out a sexual identity for a strong, free woman. I was worried about Kate faking an Australian accent, but she did a superb job. Everything was (except for Kate) as usual, exaggerated Australian, which I think may have turned off some non-Australians who don't really get the poetry of our country. I loved the filming of the desert. Brilliant.
Rating: 
Summary: Just too silly to be interesting
Review: Starring Kate Winslet as a young Australian woman whose family hires Harvey Keitel to "deprogram" her beliefs when she joins a cult in India, this video held the promise of an offbeat and interesting story. I sure was disappointed. The story was too contrived. And very very silly. Winslet's Australian family are just too much to be believed. Dysfunctional to the core, they are there to provide comic relief in this film which can't seem to decide if it's a comedy or a drama. There's also supposed to be romantic chemistry between the 61-year old Keitel and the 25-year old Winslet. But I couldn't help giggling in disbelief at their supposed passion. And we glimpse very little of the actual cult. Winslet is kidnapped by her family too soon to explore that important aspect of the film. All the centuries and variety of religion in India are never dealt with. Just because it is different, it is labeled "cult". The performances by Winslet and Keitel are good however. Both of them are accomplished actors and do their best with their roles. And the cinematography of the Australian outback is also done well. But, after all, the essence of a good film is the story which was much too talky as well as being silly. I found myself dozing off and wanting to "fast forward" it to the end. My recommendation: forget about it.
Rating: 
Summary: Holy Smoke! Indeed
Review: I really meant to give it 3 1/2. Well when I first went to the video store to rent the movie, I didn't expect it to be a classic because I've read some of the reviews and they were mostly negative. Maybe was because of the subject matter of the film or the twist and turns some people might of find it disturbing. But when I finished watching this film, it was really interesting and really had enjoyed it. First I have to say that this movie the most original I've seen. It has a lot of subjects to discuss about. To, sexual seduction, power, control, and sexual politics. And the film really great cinematography. The story in itself wasn't that moving, but I have to say that some scenes were quite funny, shocking, and interesting. But the main reason to watch the film is for the lead actors, especially Winslet. Kate Winslet (Ruth) mesmerized me like never before. She once left me in doubt after seeing Titanic (who some who don't recognize the lead actress, is the one who played Rose in Titanic), but now she proved to me that she's one of the best actors of our time. And for Harvey Keitel (PJ), he was ok for being a screen veteran. But the story here is really Winslet, she was so engagingly gorgeous that she stoled every scene she was on. She truly was overlooked by the Academy this year. The film itself was average. It was somewhat shocking, but sometimes the screenplay was lacking. At times we couldn't really see what was into the minds of Ruth and PJ. But I really only recommend this film within the peformances itself.
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