proud_luddite In the mid-nineteenth century, in a community in a New Zealand forest, a mute pianist from Scotland (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter (Anna Paquin) live with a settler (Sam Neill) as per an arranged marriage. A nearby neighbour (Harvey Keitel) has his sights on the pianist.Director Jane Campion (also the screenwriter) has created a movie experience that is sensual from beginning to end. She gets to the heart of nature in every scene even making the viewer experience rare feelings. The opening scene of an arrival at a beach is beautiful and provocative; the sight of the giant waves is stunning but also a dangerous and uncontrollable part of nature that acts as a preview of what's to happen with the characters of the story. The sex scenes are also very unique in that they express a passion and warmth that is rare in films of its era as well as those that have followed; particularly in moments where a facial expression shows genuine pleasure from the sense of being touched.Campion gets great work from her actors. Keitel and Neill show a sensuous side that might only be encouraged by a director with a feminine perspective. Paquin gives one of the best child performances in cinema. And Hunter's performance is truly amazing. Her facial and body language say so much. In a shocking, climactic scene, her quiet breakdown rips the heart out. Her character is someone who might seem demanding and annoying at first but it is clear later on that Ada is one of those souls who seems more attuned to the spirit world than to the mundane details of the physical world.The story may have flaws (as others have pointed out) but it is how it is expressed that makes it stand out. Here, Campion is greatly aided by cinematorgrapher Stuart Dryburgh and the music by Michael Nyman. A treasure for the senses.OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT: Directing by Jane Campion

Benedito Dias Rodrigues Until now l'd watched exactly 8.732 movies in my lifetime this is my 131 that l gave a high rating 10/10, as the numbers shows in fact just a few reach such number,The Piano is one's of them, powerful, haunting and touching...the plot is really original the casting is wonderful, Holly Hunter as mute Ada has a stunning performance mainly when she play the piano that spoke for her, Ana Pasquin as little child Flora is another unforgettable character and finally Harvey Keitel as neighbor Baines who has perhaps your best acting ever as an illiterate person... the rain forest provide a proper backdrop to tell so touching story of love...Jane Campion make a true masterpiece symbolizing the real cinema should be...now l understand why famous actor persecutes such roles like that where the money can't buy...just honor!!!Long life to the cinema!!!!

veronika_smile This may be one of my favourite love tragedies. The script is just wonderful - a classic story, a woman is married to a stranger into a foreign land and the only thing she has is not her voice, it's her music. The combination of art and romance and tragedy makes me wonder, doesn't this portray the usual life of women in the past? Being sold off to men who couldn't care less about them, but just care that their wife is their property, not to be touched or seen, not a real human with real feelings. I think that this is a story of finding yourself, of finding what really life has planned for you, it teaches that is is okay to change ones mind - only if it is not too late to do so. This story is about great misery, but also great love - the kind that prevails everything, makes that same misery disappear and makes you see just how happy you can be even when something seems to be missing from you (literally). This film keeps you on your toes, makes you wonder and fantasize about what is going to happen next, and when it happens you think - I couldn't have been more wrong.

Alexandre Arena Filho I don't understand some of the praise The Piano received. Holly Hunter's acting is not as good as I expected. She mostly keeps the same emotionless face throughout the movie, even in the two scenes where Ada certainly feels incredible pain. I don't see how challenging could it be for an actress to pull that off. Young Anna Paquin is good, but not as good as I thought she would be. She is adorable and does an accent and all, but not for a moment blew my mind.Some say this is feminist. Maybe it's because I'm a man and can't fully understand it, but watching the movie I thought my female feminist friends would feel offended by the screenplay. Ada is weak and allows awful things to happen to her - yes, she loves that piano and wants it back (you could never tell by Hunter's expressions), but maybe she should have been more "vocal" about it instead of becoming a prostitute. She hardly resists such disgusting proposals, even though she's not supposed to be perceived as a slut.Some say this is romantic and passionate. To me, it felt like a creepy story about a woman who falls in "love" with a disgusting man, and it reminded me of Stockholm syndrome. It worked a lot better in Beauty and the Beast. The Piano is a very unpleasant movie, and no eye candy could save it.