Holy Smoke (1999)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Jane Campion

Writers:

Anna Campion (written by) &
Jane Campion (written by)

Release Date:

22 February 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Comedy

Tagline:

Sex captive in desert hideaway...young beauty seduced by macho American twice her age.

Plot:

While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barron falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru...

Plot Keywords:

Cult | India | Guru | Lesbian Kiss | Urine

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Kate Winslet	...	Ruth
Harvey Keitel	...	PJ Waters
Julie Hamilton	...	Mum
Sophie Lee	...	Yvonne
Daniel Wyllie	...	Robbie (as Dan Wyllie)
Paul Goddard	...	Tim
Tim Robertson	...	Dad
George Mangos	...	Yani
Kerry Walker	...	Puss
Les Dayman	...	Bill-Bill (as Leslie Dayman)
Samantha Murray	...	Prue
Sandy Gutman	...	Stan (as Austen Tayshus)
Simon Anderson	...	Fabio
Pam Grier	...	Carol
Eva Martin	...	Devotee

Also Known As:

Holy Smoke! (USA) (video box title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexuality and language.

Runtime:

115 min

Country:

USA | Australia

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Germany:12 | USA:R (cut) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) (video rating) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Taiwan:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Canada:R | Chile:18 | Finland:K-14 | France:U | Hong Kong:III | Japan:R-18 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Singapore:R(A) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | Philippines:R-18

Filming Locations:

Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Australia

Company:

India Take One Productions

Trivia:

According to an interview following the shoot, Kate Winslet admitted that in the urination scenes there was bag taped to her leg to pull off the effect. Finally she got frustrated and asked Jane Campion if she could just urinate herself. Campion did one take this way, but the urine was harder to control than Winslet had thought, and the take was scrapped.

Goofs:

Continuity: When at first Ruth is in the middle of a circle of her relatives, she has a jewel in the middle of her forehead. Then the jewel disappears for a while and then reappears for the remainder of the scene.

Quotes:

PJ Waters: You know, you'd be better off crying.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Eisai to tairi mou: (#1.2)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

Maya, Mayi Ma - The Celebration

Crazy With A Core Message

I was in Karlovy Vary in June, 2000 and needed a break from Czech so I went to see Holy Smoke at a 5 p.m. showing. The Kino Cas required a minimum of 8 people to buy tickets or they would not show the movie. The crowd numbered about 12. I enjoyed Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet's roles very much. Just when you think that you've met the most dysfunctional family in your personal experiences, here is one to top them all. Kate Winslet's family is in need of a "deprogrammer" to rescue their daughter from the clutches of Eastern Transcendentalism and they call on Harvey Keitel's character to get the job done. Some may find the movie silly but I thought it touched some real difficult issues faced by many. I was lost in thought during much of the film so I revisited the Cino Cas the following afternoon to see it again. It rated a 9 from my perspective. R Morris