Holy Smoke (2000)

31 March 2000

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In this wildly inventive film from director Jane Campion (THE PIANO), Kate Winslet stars as Ruth, a headstrong Australian woman determined to get back to India in time to join a group marriage to her guru. Her family, hoping to break the cult leader's psychic grip on Ruth, hires P.J. (Harvey Keitel), a macho American deprogramming expert teetering on the brink of a nervous breakdown. A no-holds-barred battle of the psyches, cultures, and sexes ensues as P.J. and Ruth fight, connive, and eventually fall into bed together in what becomes a mutual search for individual truth. The strong performances of the two stars, a hilariously offbeat script (cowritten by Campion and her sister, Anna), and a wealth of delicious, texture-enhancing flourishes (including some surreal bits of computer animation, Pam Grier's work in a small role as P.J.'s partner, and a wild opening sequence set to Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy") combine to make HOLY SMOKE a weird, winning blend of goofy comedy and hallucinatory mysticism.

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film information
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  • Release Date
  • 31 March 2000
  • Cast
  • Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel
  • Director
  • Jane Campion
  • Writer
  • Jane Campion, Anna Campion
  • Company
  • Channel Four Films
  • Genre
  • Drama, Comedy
  • Cert
  • 18
  • Runtime
  • 115 minutes