Jane Campion

Contemporary Film Directors

by Kathleen McHugh

In considering Jane Campion's early award-winning short films on through international sensation  The Piano  and beyond, Kathleen McHugh traces the director's distinctive visual style as well as her commitment to consistently renovating the conventions of "women's films." By refusing to position her female protagonists as victims, McHugh argues, Campion scrupulously avoids the moral structures of melodrama, and though she often works with the narratives, mise-en-scene, and visual tropes typical of that genre, her films instead invite a distanced or even amused engagement.  Jane Campion  concludes with four brief, revelatory interviews and a filmography. Campion spoke twice with Michel Ciment—after the screening of her short and medium-length films at the Cannes Film Festival 1986, and three years later, after the Cannes screening of  Sweetie.  Judith Lewis narrates a Beverly Hills interview with Campion that followed the release of  Holy Smoke,  and Lizzie Francke's interview, reprinted from  Sight and Sound, centers on Campion's film  In the Cut,  adapted from Susanna Moore's novel. A volume in the series Contemporary Film Directors, edited by James R. Naremore

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Quin · Rating 4 out of 5]

McHugh has some pretty insightful thoughts on Campion. From reading this and the Fox book, I'm convinced 'Holy Smoke!' will be reclaimed in ten years just like 'In The Cut' was.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is another case of a book which goes on describing exactly what happens through each of Campion's films. I found there to really and truely be nothing worthwhile reading in this book at all, even the choosen interviews at the back of the book were poorly chosen.

I think that the language used in this book was hoity toity and pompous with excessive use of jargon where things could easily be said simpler and actually make more sense.

Just really very much of a nothing book, although it did give me an appreciation for the movies of Campion and what she was trying to say in her movies.

[Kevin Hinman · Rating 4 out of 5]

McHugh's analysis of Jane Campion's extraordinary filmography is as layered and cutting as the films themselves, even if she too often gets caught up in attempting to shoehorn Campion's entire oeuvre under a few comprehensive theses. McHugh's criticism of In the Cut is especially potent, linking the poorly received thriller to strong literary and film traditions that includes Virginia Woolf and Alfred Hitchcock, and illuminating screenplay choices that I often found questionable in merit. Recommended for film students, or anyone who wants to learn more about Campion's impact on film.

[Laurabauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides an informative back story to understanding Jane Campion's subversive story-telling film methods.