Holy Smoke

Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Pam Grier
Directed by: Jane Campion
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1999

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Ruth (Kate Winslet), a young Australian woman, travels to India where she falls under the spell of a cult leader. Her worried family hires an American (Harvey Keitel) to deprogram her from the cult. During the process, he discovers the young girl will not easily break, and the ensuing attempt to break the hold of the cult leader could have far reaching implications for both of them.

Review:

Tim: This is a very different and strange movie. It is somewhat interesting, simply because you are not quite sure what to make of it. It received most good reviews, and I imagine most stem from the original quality of the film.

Harvey Keitel gives a good performance. He may not be the most admirable and likeable of characters, but he plays him well. His role is essential in that we need to easily see the faults in him. Kate Winslet is pretty good as well. You can see the star quality ready to burst out throughout her performance.

Several scenes in the film are not what you'd expect to find. The urinating scene is pretty bizarre, but putting some thought into it will help explain its significance. It is definitely odd.

The best quality of the movie is that it stimulates conversation- this is a movie you definitely need to talk about. Many films are cut and dry, but this film has quite a few layers to it. It'll take some thought to figure out the reason behind the actions we see on the screen.

Despite a few decent qualities, the movie really isn't very appealing or entertaining. Seeing it once is more than enough for me.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Titanic, Reservoir Dogs, U-571, Finding Neverland