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Jane Campion Studies the Dark Side of the Human Nature Dysfunctional families, sibling rivalry, family members who do not speak to each other, sexual cruelty, madness and passion - all these are recurring themes in films by the New Zealand director Jane Campion. Her best-known film is The Piano from 1993. The film won the Palm d'Or, three Oscars and countless other awards. Campion studied anthropology and arts before she began her studies in the Australian Film and Television School. Campion's background in anthropology is reflected in her films in the way people are portrayed. A family's struggle of power The earliest Campion films were the short student films she made in the beginning of the 1980s. During her first academic year, she directed the short film Peel, which was awarded the Palm d'Or in Cannes in 1986. “An Exercise In Discipline - Peel” lasts nine minutes and is an account of a family's power struggle and teaching of patterns of behavior. The film takes place in a car, and it begins when the bored son throws orange peels out of the car window. The father becomes furious and begins to discipline his son. He demands that the boy must go out and pick up the peels. The son refuses. This leads to a power struggle between the father and his son. When they return to the car, the son sees that his aunt has thrown an orange peel on the ground. The son has learned his lesson, and orders his aunt to pick up the peel. The black and white short film Passionless Moments is visually and narratively interesting because it was the first film where Campion worked with cameraman Sally Bongers. Its themes have very little in common with Campion's later films. Passionless Moments represents a series of unusual events in the daily routines of people living in an Australian suburb. Sexual fantasies meet reality Campion's films often portray conflicts in both families and in female sexuality. On one hand, women are sexual objects, and on the other hand, the girls' sexuality is forbidden. The Girl's Own Story, situated in the 1960s, tells how the sexuality of teenage girls arose in the beatle era. The romantic fantasies of young women confront the cruel reality with incest, adultery and child abuse. Some of the themes that surface in this film and recur in Campion's later films are siblings who do not get along and parents who do not speak to each other. Campion's latest short film is After Hours (1984), in which Campion deals with sexual harassment in work places. This film was made for Women's Film Unit and the theme had to be a feministic one. This was Campion's first work after graduation. Feature films continue the themes of short films Campion's short films are more disconsolate than her feature films. Even though Campion deals with the same cruel themes, there is some hope given for relationships. The Piano has got more publicity than Campion's earlier films. However, she became already known in 1989 with her film Sweetie, which depicts the difficult relationship between two sisters. In 1990 she filmed An Angel At My Table which tells the story of a New Zealand writer who was incorrectly diagnosed with schizophrenia. The film is based on an autobiographical novel by Janet Frame. Campion's success after The Piano has not been without its critics. After The Piano she has directed The Portrait of a Lady and Holy Smoke, starring Harvey Keitel, Kate Winslet and Nicole Kidman.
Sources: Peel, Passionless Moments and Girls Own Story at Pakkahuone on Thu 7 March at 5 pm
TEXT: Henna Lehtinen |
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Festival News 2002 festnews@uta.fi |