RITA DI SANTO draws attention to a new film that features Ken Loach and Jeremy Corbyn, and their personal experience of media misrepresentation
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Film round-up: June 15
This week the Star's critic reviews The Piano, The Ciambra, Ocean's 8, Hereditary, and Studio 54
JULIA TOPPIN recommends Patti Smith’s eloquent memoir that wrestles with the beauty and sorrow of a lifetime
MARJORIE MAYO welcomes an account of family life after Oscar Wilde, a cathartic exercise, written by his grandson
KEN COCKBURN guides us through a survey of Chekov’s early short fiction, and the groundwork it laid for his later masterpieces
ANDY HEDGECOCK revels in a hugely enjoyable but deadly serious examination of the 1930s, that is an indictment of our own era
The bard distills our hellish times into fiery words
The Piano (15)
Directed by Jane Campion
★★★★★
NEW Zealand film-maker Jane Campion’s justly lauded Oscar-nominated third feature film deservedly won Academy Awards in 1993 for best screenplay and Oscar nominations for best picture and best director.
Re-released after a quarter of a century, The Piano's potent dramatic force, extraordinary performances and uniquely compelling story reinforces its status as a cinema classic along with enhancing the reputation of Campion — the first woman director to win the top prize at the 1993 Cannes film festival — as a genuine auteur.
Set in the mid-1850s, the film tells the story of Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) who arrive in New Zealand after a lengthy voyage from Scotland but end up left on a beach with their belongings and a piano.
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