Aimless and unfocused.
Comment
01/01/00
Holy Smoke! (1999)
44
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:73
Fresh:32
Rotten:41
Average Rating:5.6/10
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... [More]
Starring: Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Sophie Lee, Tim Robertson
Director: Jane Campion
Reviews for Holy Smoke!
It's refreshing to see Winslet follow Titanic's phenomenal commercial success by returning to the edgy roles in smaller films that earned her recognition in the first place.
01/01/00
The talent on display in the first part of the movie ends up squandered, as if the film has given up on us.
01/01/00
Winslet is the sort of actress who can rage at the heavens and reach for them at the same time.
01/01/00
This script -- to be kind -- is uneven at best and completely illogical at its worst.
01/01/00
Top CriticIt probably all looked good on paper, but the playing out is something else again.
01/01/00
It's a movie you enjoy, even though you wish it had been better.
01/01/00
I suspect much of Grier's work on this film is cluttering the cutting room floor, and her character is just never realized. Outside of this one shortcoming, Holy Smoke is a masterpiece.
01/01/00
The film isn't really about cults at all, but about the struggle between men and women, and it's a little surprising, although not boring, when it turns from a mystic travelogue into a feminist parable.
01/01/00
Top CriticBut I didn't like "Piano" either.
01/01/00
As the story gets weaker and lazier, neither Winslet nor the stunning visuals can save the film from descending into camp and confusion.
01/01/00
Everything about Holy Smoke seems an (unintentional) parody of itself.
01/01/00
It's not so much shallow as it is garish and over-wrought, an Important Message Movie without a solid base of characterization to ground it.
01/01/00
To call Winslet’s performance voluptuous makes a nice double entendre to be sure, but it captures the passion and emotional power she invests in the role.
01/01/00
The screenplay sometimes slashes with sharp dialogue, and Campion's directing unmistakably breathes conviction. What she lacks is sufficient humor to see when she approaches the risible and sufficient perception to keep her seriousness fresh.
01/01/00
Part quirky Australian comedy and part film about cult deprogramming, the script by Anna and Jane Campion is neither funny nor credible.
01/01/00
A frustrating battle of the sexes that seems unfairly matched.
01/01/00
Holy Smoke! owes a lot to Winslet, both because of the way she looks and because of the emotional energy she brings to her work. Without Winslet, the film would be barely worth watching.
01/01/00
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