THE MASTERPIECE
We reassess the greatest films of all time, one film at a time
Bittersweet symphony: Holly Hunter as Ada, who communicates through her piano-playing.
The Piano
A SEARING SYMPHONY of male and female desire, conflict, cruelty and music, Jane Campion’s
The
Piano
endures as as a rich, emotionally crackling milestone in filmmaking. The film, which was written by Campion and follows an electively mute Scottish woman’s new life in mid-1800s New Zealand, won an Oscar for its star Holly Hunter, one for Anna Paquin, who plays her young daughter, and one for Campion for her screenplay. It bagged the Palme d’Or for Campion (her second, after a fashion; she won the Short Film Palme d’Or in 1986 for
Peel),
and in 2019 it topped a worldwide poll from the BBC seeking out the best 100 films made by women.
The
Piano
is not just a masterpiece. Upon its release it blazed a trail for women making films about women, while proving that female-directed films could turn a huge profit at the box office (it made over $140 million worldwide on a $7 million budget).