The Piano

Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin.
An absolute peach of a film that has virtually everything - extraordinary acting, wonderful New Zealand landscapes and cinematography and a beautiful musical score beautifully performed by Holly Hunter - befitting a film with such a title. It contains too a look at Victorian values (which should, but this time fail to, mask deeply sensual attraction with mystery, fear and exotic settings), the clash of Maori and European cultures, a woman moving from repressed muteness to positive self-fulfilment, and perhaps the best performance in movie history by a child actor.
Oscars 1994: Hunter, Paquin and Campion
Cannes 1993: Palme d'Or; Best Actress (Holly Hunter)