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Movies / On DVD / Holy Smoke!
Holy Smoke!

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Holy Smoke! (1999)

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43 %
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Reviews Counted: 72

Fresh: 31

Rotten:41

Average Rating: 5.5/10

Consensus: Superb performances hindered by weak script and incoherent story.

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Sophie Lee, Tim Robertson

Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Sophie Lee, Tim Robertson, Pam Grier, Dan Wyllie

Director: Jane Campion

Director: Jane Campion
Screenwriter: Anna Campion, Jane Campion
Producer: Jan Chapman
Composer: Angelo Badalamenti

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Aug 8, 2000

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Holy Smoke!
  • Kate Winslet (TITANIC, SENSE AND SENSIBILITY) and Harvey Keitel (U-571, PULP FICTION) add scintillating performances to a seductive, darkly hilarious motion picture that's met with overwhelming critical acclaim! While on a journey of discovery in exotic India, beautiful young Ruth Barroin (Winslet) falls under the influence of a charismatic religious guru. Her desperate parents then hire PJ Waters (Keitel), a macho cult deprogrammer, who confronts Ruth in a remote desert hideaway. But PJ quickly learns that he's met his match in the sexy, intelligent, and iron-willed Ruth! Another memorable motion picture directed by Academy Award(R)-winner Jane Campion -- you'll feel an undeniable comic charge from the sparks that fly as PJ and Ruth face off in an electric battle of the sexes.
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Holy Smoke!

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
    06/17/08
    David Rooney
    Variety
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Jane Campion is busily dismantling gender myths that few people take seriously any more.

    Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
    09/17/07
    Rob Gonsalves
    eFilmCritic.com
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
    04/27/07
    Andrew Sarris
    New York Observer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    06/24/06
    Derek Adams
    Time Out

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/06/05
    Film Threat
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

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    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    07/21/05
    Houston Chronicle
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    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Reeling Reviews | comment Comment
    04/09/05
    Robin Clifford
    Reeling Reviews
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Nation | comment Comment
    03/03/05
    Stuart Klawans
    Nation

    It's too bad that such an artist of such obvious ambition and power seems inclined to dismiss the greater part of humanity...

    Full Review Source: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette | comment Comment
    01/27/05
    Philip Martin
    Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
    05/14/03
    Jeanne Aufmuth
    Palo Alto Weekly
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
    12/12/02
    Empire Magazine
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Filmmaker Jane Campion has displayed genius, passion, insight, and self-indulgence in her work. Now, she reveals a sense of humor.

    Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
    12/08/02
    Ron Wells
    Film Threat

    [A] blithering mess of a story.

    Full Review Source: Cincinnati Enquirer | comment Comment
    10/15/02
    Margaret A. McGurk
    Cincinnati Enquirer

    At once hilarious and serious, cruel and tender, and bristling with vitality, Holy Smoke is the right movie for the millennium, envisioning new possibilities in the way people view and relate to one another.

    Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
    08/15/02
    Kevin Thomas
    Los Angeles Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    06/18/02
    Jay Carr
    Boston Globe
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Nice try, but there's not a laugh in sight.

    Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
    04/05/02
    Rick Groen
    Globe and Mail
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    A funny, insightful film whose feminist undertones don't overwhelm the story and characters.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
    04/03/02
    Paula Nechak
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer

    The film's only moments of electricity come in its first ten minutes, as its two stars are introduced to strains of Neil Diamond's "Holly Holy" and "I Am, I Said."

    Full Review Source: Matinee Magazine | comment Comment
    03/08/02
    Chuck Rudolph
    Matinee Magazine

    A shattering and intense drama dealing with spirituality and sexual politics.

    Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
    03/04/02
    Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
    Spirituality and Practice

    [Keitel and Winslet] don't have much to work with.

    Full Review Source: Goatdog's Movies | comment Comment
    02/28/02
    Michael W. Phillips, Jr.
    Goatdog's Movies
     
     
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