The Piano (1993)

A mute woman is sent to 1850s New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a wealthy landowner, but is soon lusted after by a local worker on the plantation.

Director:

Jane Campion

Writer:

Jane Campion

Stars:

Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill

Won 3 Oscars. Another 60 wins & 56 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Holly Hunter	...	Ada
Harvey Keitel	...	Baines
Sam Neill	...	Stewart
Anna Paquin	...	Flora
Kerry Walker	...	Aunt Morag
Geneviève Lemon	...	Nessie (as Genevieve Lemon)
Tungia Baker	...	Hira
Ian Mune	...	Reverend
Peter Dennett	...	Head Seaman
Te Whatanui Skipwith	...	Chief Nihe
Pete Smith	...	Hone
Bruce Allpress	...	Blind Piano Tuner
Cliff Curtis	...	Mana
Carla Rupuha	...	Heni (Mission Girl)
Mahina Tunui	...	Mere (Mission Girl)

Storyline

It is the mid-nineteenth century. Ada cannot speak and she has a young daughter, Flora. In an arranged marriage she leaves her native Scotland accompanied by her daughter and her beloved piano. Life in the rugged forests of New Zealand's North Island is not all she may have imagined and nor is her relationship with her new husband Stewart. She suffers torment and loss when Stewart sells her piano to a neighbor, George. Ada learns from George that she may earn back her piano by giving him piano lessons, but only with certain other conditions attached. At first Ada despises George but slowly their relationship is transformed and this propels them into a dire situation.

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Plot Keywords:

mute | piano | mute woman | triple f rated | f rated | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for moments of extremely graphic sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

New Zealand Australia France

Language:

English British Sign Language Maori

Release Date:

11 February 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Piano

Filming Locations:

Auckland, New Zealand

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$40,158,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

CiBy 2000,Jan Chapman Productions,The Australian Film Commission

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby (Dolby 5.1)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The play performed in the movie is an adaptation of "Bluebeard", which is a French fairy tale recorded by Charles Perrault about a man who marries, kills his wives after they fail a test, stashes their bodies in a small chamber, then marries again. In the original story, the main character (Bluebeard's current wife) escapes her psychopathic husband and finds happiness elsewhere.

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Goofs

Ada writes a note to George on a piano key, but earlier George had told her that he can't read.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ada: The voice you hear is not my speaking voice - -but my mind's voice. I have not spoken since I was six years old. No one knows why - -not even me. My father says it is a dark talent, and the day I take it into my head to stop breathing will be my last. Today he married me to a man I have not yet met. Soon my daughter and I shall join him in his own country. My husband writes that my muteness does not bother him - and hark this! He says, "God loves dumb creatures, so why not I?" '...

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Angels Revenge (1995)

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Soundtracks

The Flowers of the Forest
Written by Jane Elliot
Performed by Anna Paquin

User Reviews

Acting with the face

If one wants to see true acting, just watch Hollie Hunter in this film. She does more with her facial expressions than twenty actors can with a thousand words. Her stature, her presence, her determination are so intense. One could feel sorry for her in places. She has been ripped from her world for reasons we cannot fathom. She has been deemed expendable. When she arrives she expects to be treated properly. Anna Paquin as her daughter settles into the new environment and begins to prosper. But it is not without sacrifice. The piano is the symbol of what was left behind. Her affair with the Maori is partly passion, partly payment. We never know how much of each. The performances are stunning across the board and, this time, worthy of Academy Awards.

There are some very sensual scenes and scenes of great danger. There is pain inflicted and selfishness and power. Hollie Hunter rises above it all and makes her way through this quagmire (the rainy muddy jungle in this case), and arises, victorious in her own fashion.