Review of Holy Smoke (1999) by Kevin R — 08 Dec 2014

I don't have to honor a contract with the devil.

Ruth Barron and her friends head to India where they fall in with a religious cult. Ruth can't believe the beauty of India while under the cult leader's influence; however, her parents aren't as impressed. They hire a man known for his ability to rescue kidnapped girls. He goes to India and brings her back to her family in Australia and finds an isolated house in the desert to try and help her recover from her spell. He'll find his task more challenging than he anticipated based on her beauty, intelligence, and sexual prowess.

"Which of these men would you trust to pack your parachute?".

Jane Champion, director of The Piano, In the Cut, Bright Star, Sweetie, The Portrait of a Lady, and episodes of Top of the Lake, delivers Holy Smoke. The storyline for this picture is a bit uneven but ended better than I anticipated. The settings were cool and the acting was very good. The cast includes Kate Winslet, Harvey Keitel, Julie Hamilton, Paul Goddard, Dan Wyllie, Sandy Gutman, and Pam Grier.

"Is there a toilet or a hole here?".

I grabbed this off Netflix because I am a fan of Keitel and I thought a pairing with Winslet would be fascinating. This was pretty good. I can tell you I did find some scenes annoying and frustrating, but the overall evolution of the film is good and I adored the ending. Overall, this is worth a viewing but likely not worth adding to your DVD collection as you'll only need to see this once.

"Are you pleasing yourself? Is that what we brought you up to do?".

Grade: B.