Word: campions
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...piano stands alone on an empty swath of New Zealand beach while behind it a towering wall of sea waves threaten to obliterate it. That singularly haunting image is at the core of Jane Campion's new film "The Piano." The hoary proverb which states that a picture is worth a thousand words could not be more appropriate. The value of silence, of nonverbal communication, is essential to the theme of Campion's film, which depicts a world in which images and music count as much as words...
...reveal what happens would be unthinkable, for the surprises in the plot are one of he films manifold pleasures. Campion has said that in writing the screenplay she drew on the Bronte sisters. She is faithful to her inspiration, and the violent unleashing of passions and the consequences that follow are portrayed in a manner that does the author of Wuthering Heights proud. In the world portrayed by Campion, the characters have no defense against the passion that threatens to overtake them. They are foreigners transplanted to a strange new land where the senses rule. Life is overpowering here...
...works on so many levels at the same time that at moments you don't know what has hit you. Photographed by Stuart Dryburgh, "The Piano" is visually stunning, but its beauty is not of the empty picture-postcard kind. The visual texture of the movie is integral to Campion's vision. Michael Nyman has issued a haunting score that captures the essence of each character...
Although she was a complete novice, Paquin handled the work well. "She's a completely dignified person," says Jane Campion, The Piano's writer and director. "Before we started we heard there's always a crisis point with young actors where they lose it, about halfway or three-quarters of the way through. We kept waiting for that to happen, but it never did." In fact, Campion recalls the only time Paquin got "a bit teary" was the first day of shooting when her mom had to return home; an ice-cream break solved the problem, and filming proceeded...
BEST PERFORMANCE IN ARMANI AND A HEADSET. How did the agents do? Of the seven winners in the acting, writing and directing categories, CAA represents three (Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Jane Campion), ICM two (Holly Hunter and Tommy Lee Jones), and the little-known Harold Greene Agency one (Schindler's List screenwriter Steven Zaillian). Eleven-year-old Anna Paquin is represented by the even-less-known Double Happy agency of New Zealand. The William Morris Agency was shut...