Editing Holy Smoke!

{{Short description|1999 film by Jane Campion}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Holy Smoke!
| image          = Holy smoke ver1.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| writer         = Anna Campion<br>Jane Campion
| starring = {{Plainlist|
* [[Kate Winslet]]
* [[Harvey Keitel]]}}
| director       = [[Jane Campion]]
| producer       = [[Jan Chapman]]
| music          = [[Angelo Badalamenti]]
| cinematography = [[Dion Beebe]]
| editing        = [[Veronika Jenet]]
| distributor    = [[Miramax Films]]{{efn|Distributed in Australia in association with [[Roadshow Entertainment|Roadshow Film Distributors]].<ref>{{cite web|title=holy smoke - Review|work=Ozmovies|access-date=14 June 2021|url=https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/holy-smoke|archive-date=7 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307223323/https://ozmovies.com.au/movie/holy-smoke|url-status=dead}}</ref>}}
| released       = {{film date|1999|9|4|[[56th Venice International Film Festival|Venice]]|1999|12|3|United States|ref2=<ref name=afi/>|1999|12|26|Australia|df=yes}}
| runtime        = 115 minutes
| country        = {{Plainlist|
* Australia<ref name=afi/>
* United States<ref name=afi/>
}}
| language       = English
| budget         =
| gross          = $3.6 million<ref name=numbers/>
}}

'''''Holy Smoke!''''' is a 1999 [[independent film|independent]] [[romance film|romantic]] [[comedy drama]] film directed by [[Jane Campion]], and starring [[Kate Winslet]] and [[Harvey Keitel]]. The plot follows an American [[exit counseling|exit counselor]] (Keitel) who attempts to deprogram a young Australian woman (Winslet) who has been indoctrinated into a [[new age]] [[cult]] in [[India]]. Julie Hamilton, Tim Robertson, [[Daniel Wyllie]], and [[Pam Grier]] appear in supporting roles.

Director Jane Campion wrote the screenplay for the film with her sister, Anna Campion. The film was a co-production between Australia and the United States.<ref name=afi>{{cite web|work=[[AFI Catalog of Feature Films]]|location=Los Angeles, California|title=Holy Smoke|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61179-HOLY-SMOKE?cxt=filmography|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200310035002/https://catalog.afi.com/Film/61179-HOLY-SMOKE?cxt=filmography|archive-date=10 March 2020}}</ref> The film premiered at the [[56th Venice International Film Festival]] and was shown at the [[New York Film Festival]] and the [[Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival]] before being released theatrically.

==Plot==
During a trip to India, Ruth Barron has a [[religious experience|spiritual awakening]] and embraces the teachings of a [[guru]] named Baba. Back home in the Sydney suburb of [[Sans Souci, New South Wales|Sans Souci]], her parents are appalled to learn their daughter now answers to the name Nazni and has no intention of returning. They concoct a tale about her father Gilbert having had a [[stroke]] and being on the verge of death, and her mother Miriam travels to India in hopes of persuading her to come home, with no success until she suffers a serious [[asthma]] attack. Ruth agrees to accompany her to Australia on her return flight.

Meanwhile, Miriam has arranged a phony reunion with Gilbert in the [[Outback]], claiming to Ruth that he is recuperating there. Gilbert, as well as Ruth's brothers Robbie—along with his promiscuous wife Yvonne—and Tim—along with his male lover, Yani—all convene at a nearby resort. There, they meet with P.J. Waters, a famous American [[Exit counseling|exit counselor]] who [[Deprogramming|deprograms]] members of religious cults. Ruth arrives, and goes to visit her father at a farm; there, she is confronted by her family along with P.J., who have staged an [[Intervention (counseling)|intervention]]. Ruth is defiant and attempts to fight them, but ultimately relents and agrees to accompany P.J. for a treatment session, under the provision that she may return to India once they have finished.

Ruth departs with P.J. to a remote cabin where he isolates her and begins to challenge her faith in Baba, exposing that Baba's doctrines have been directly copied from [[Hinduism]]. During the first night, Yvonne, who is staying nearby, arrives to bring a change of clothes for Ruth, and performs [[oral sex]] on P.J. The following morning, Ruth is angered when she finds P.J. has strung her [[sari]] up in a tree, and retaliates by forming a "HELP" signal out of stones. Later, P.J. takes Ruth to visit her family, and they all screen a documentary exposing the tactics of cults, including the [[Charles Manson|Manson family]], [[Heaven's Gate (religious group)|Heaven's Gate]], and the [[Rajneesh movement|Rajneesh]].

That night, after returning to the cabin, P.J. awakens to find a distressed, naked Ruth has lit the tree and her sari on fire. Ruth propositions P.J., and the two have sex; Ruth asks P.J. "Don't come, don't come", but P.J. still comes. In the morning, Yvonne, Tim, and Yani arrive to bring Ruth to a party, which P.J. accompanies her on. When they return, a drunken Ruth insults P.J.'s manhood before ordering him to perform oral sex on her. The next morning, P.J's assistant and lover, Carol, arrives from the United States, chastising him for screening her phone calls, and demanding he return home. She ultimately agrees to the deprogramming session lasting one more day. Ruth begins to taunt P.J. and emasculates him by making him wear a dress, but relents when he responds by writing the phrase "Be Kind" on her forehead; she is suddenly overcome with guilt and begins crying, confessing that she does not allow anyone to become emotionally close to her.

Ruth decides to leave, but P.J., who believes himself to be in love with her, attempts to stop her. The two have a physical altercation in which he punches her, knocking her unconscious. P.J. leaves with an unconscious Ruth in the [[Trunk (car)|boot]] of his car. On the road, he encounters Tim, Robbie, and Yvonne en route to the cabin. P.J. tells them Ruth has fled, and that they should separate and search for her. Yvonne insists she accompany P.J., who reluctantly allows her in the car. As they drive, Yvonne hears Ruth banging on the lid of the boot, and orders him to stop the car. She lets Ruth out of the boot, and she begins running into the bush, with P.J. pursuing her on foot, proclaiming his love for her. P.J. eventually collapses of exhaustion in the heat, and has a vision of Ruth as the [[Durga]] before Yvonne, Tim, and Robbie come to his and Ruth's aid. Ruth departs with Yvonne, Tim, and Robbie, along with P.J., whom they place in the bed of the truck. During the drive, Ruth asks them to stop the truck. She gets into the bed with P.J., and comforts him.

A year later, Ruth writes to P.J. from [[Jaipur]], where she is now living with her mother, after her father left her for his secretary. Ruth explains to P.J. that she is still seeking spirituality, and has recently completed reading the ''[[Bhagavad Gita]]''. She now has a boyfriend, but confesses she still loves P.J. "from afar." Back in the United States, P.J. responds to Ruth, explaining that he and Carol now have twin sons, though he too confesses a love for her.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Kate Winslet]] as Ruth Barron
* [[Harvey Keitel]] as P.J. Waters
* [[Julie Hamilton]] as Miriam Barron
* [[Tim Robertson]] as Gilbert Barron
* [[Kerry Walker]] as Puss
* [[Leslie Dayman]] as Bill-Bill 
* [[Sophie Lee]] as Yvonne Barron
* [[Daniel Wyllie]] as Robbie Barron
* [[Paul Goddard (actor)|Paul Goddard]] as Tim Barron
* [[Austen Tayshus]] as Stan
* [[Pam Grier]] as Carol
* Samantha Murray as Prue
* [[Dhritiman Chatterjee]] as Chidaatma Baba
* [[Hari Om Sharan]] as a singer (cameo) 
* Luke Testa as Boyfriend
* [[Tamsin Carroll]] as Jodie
}}

==Production ==
The film was made on location in [[Paharganj]] in [[Delhi]]<ref>{{cite news|date=23 September 1998|title=Titanic Rose fails to bloom in Paharganj|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19980923/26652014.html}}{{dead link|date=December 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> and [[Pushkar]] in India and Sydney and [[Hawker, South Australia|Hawker]] in the [[Flinders Ranges]] in [[South Australia]]. Interiors were filmed at [[Fox Studios Australia]].

[[Angelo Badalamenti]]'s soundtrack is performed by artists including [[Annie Lennox]], [[Alanis Morissette]], [[Burt Bacharach]], [[Neil Diamond]] and [[Chloe Goodchild]].

==Release==
===Box office===
In the United States, the film was initially given a limited release on 3 December 1999, earning $33,307 its opening weekend.<ref name=bom>{{cite web|work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3814295041/weekend/|title=''Holy Smoke''|access-date=9 March 2020}}</ref> The release expanded to a total of 93 cinemas, ultimately grossing $1,758,780 at the U.S. [[box office]].<ref name=numbers/> The film earned a further $1,380,029 during its theatrical release in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |title=''Film Victoria - Australian Films at the Australian Box Office'' |access-date=4 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110218045303/http://film.vic.gov.au/resources/documents/AA4_Aust_Box_office_report.pdf |archive-date=18 February 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The film's worldwide box office gross totaled $3,580,723.<ref name=numbers>{{cite web | url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1999/HLYSM.php | title=Holy Smoke |work=[[The Numbers (website)|The Numbers]] | access-date=16 April 2010 }}</ref>

===Critical response===
''Holy Smoke!'' received mixed reviews from critics, holding a 46% rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]] based on 82 reviews. The critical consensus on the website reads, "Superb performances hindered by weak script and incoherent story."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Holy Smoke (2000)|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/holy_smoke|access-date=27 February 2025|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], it receives an average score of 57 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Holy Smoke Reviews|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/holy-smoke|access-date=22 October 2020|website=[[Metacritic]]}}</ref>

In her review in ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Janet Maslin]] said, "As ''Holy Smoke'' moves from its early mix of rapture and humor into [the] more serious, confrontational stage, it runs into trouble . . . the screenplay . . . threatens to become heavy-handedly ideological beneath its outward whimsy . . . it turns out to be more fundamentally conventional than might be expected . . . Shot so beautifully by Dion Beebe that it seems bathed in divine light, [the film] has a sensual allure that transcends its deep-seated ponderousness. The richly colored Indian scenes have a [[hallucinogenic]] magic, while exquisite desert vistas radiate an attunement with nature. And the steamily claustrophobic look of the intense scenes between Ms. Winslet and Keitel have an [[eroticism]] that will not surprise viewers of ''[[The Piano]]''."<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/100899smoke-film-review.html | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | title='Holy Smoke': For Enlightenment, Her Heart Will Go On | first=Janet | last=Maslin | author-link=Janet Maslin | date=8 October 1999 | access-date=16 April 2010 }}</ref>

In his review, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film 2 and a half stars out of 4. He observed, "It's a little surprising, although not boring, when it turns from a [[mysticism|mystic]] [[Travel literature|travelogue]] into a [[feminism|feminist]] [[parable]] . . . Winslet and Keitel are both interesting in the film, and indeed Winslet seems to be following Keitel's long-standing career plan, which is to go with intriguing screenplays and directors and let stardom take care of itself . . . A smaller picture like this, shot out of the mainstream, has a better chance of being quirky and original. And quirky it is, even if not successful."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=11 February 2000|title=Holy Smoke! movie review & film summary (2000)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/holy-smoke-2000|access-date=2020-10-22|website=[[RogerEbert.com]]|language=en|via=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]}}</ref>

In ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'', David Rooney stated, "Original in every sense, this often difficult film about family, relationships, sexual politics, spiritual questing, faith and obsession further explores the director's abiding fascinations in excitingly unconventional terms. Mainstream audiences may be unwilling to surrender to the pull of a unique journey that strips away its characters' masks and refuses easy solutions, and many men especially will find it too confronting. But others will embrace its thematic and stylistic complexity as qualities all too rare in contemporary cinema."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rooney|first=David|date=1999-09-07|title=Holy Smoke|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/reviews/holy-smoke-1117752088/|access-date=2020-10-22|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|language=en-US}}</ref>

Bob Graham of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' said, "''Holy Smoke'' sometimes has the mentality, for better or worse, of an [[encounter group]]. It also has a terrific subject and the spirit to bring it off."<ref>{{cite news|last=Graham|first=Bob|date=11 February 2000|title='Holy' Possessed By Earthy Spirit|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Holy-Possessed-By-Earthy-Spirit-Winslet-2803584.php|access-date=16 April 2010}}</ref>

===Accolades===
At the [[56th Venice International Film Festival|Venice Film Festival]], Jane Campion and Kate Winslet won the Elvira Notari Prize. Campion was nominated for the [[Golden Lion]] but lost to [[Zhang Yimou]] for ''[[Not One Less]]''.

==See also==
*[[Cinema of Australia]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0144715}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|holy_smoke}}
* {{Mojo title|holysmoke}}
* [https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/holy-smoke ''Holy Smoke''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045715/https://www.ozmovies.com.au/movie/holy-smoke |date=7 December 2018 }} at Oz Movies
*[http://colsearch.nfsa.afc.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=yes;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=0;parentid=;query=540989;querytype=;rec=0;resCount=10 ''Holy Smoke!'' at the National Film and Sound Archive]

{{Jane Campion}}

[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:1999 drama films]]
[[Category:1999 films]]
[[Category:1999 independent films]]
[[Category:Australian drama films]]
[[Category:Australian independent films]]
[[Category:Australian LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:Bisexuality-related films]]
[[Category:Films about new religious movements]]
[[Category:Films directed by Jane Campion]]
[[Category:Films shot in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Films shot in Delhi]]
[[Category:Films shot in Flinders Ranges]]
[[Category:Films scored by Angelo Badalamenti]]
[[Category:Films shot in India]]
[[Category:Films set in India]]
[[Category:Films set in Delhi]]
[[Category:Films set in Jaipur]]
[[Category:Films set in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:English-language independent films]]
[[Category:1990s Australian films]]
[[Category:1999 LGBTQ-related films]]
[[Category:LGBTQ-related independent films]]