Dir ; Jane Campion New Zealand 1993 121 mins

Cast: Holly Hunter, Sam Neill, Harvey Keitel, Anna Paquin

Jane Campion’s first Oscar winning film, before this year’s The Power of the Dog, is a romance set against the epic backdrop of remote New Zealand in the 1840s. A mute woman, her daughter and her prized grand piano are set down on the shore to be collected by her husband, whom she has not yet met. Things do not run smoothly. Her husband has scant regard for the beloved piano. This is a bad move. She begins a  relationship with a farm hand. The mysterious country casts its own spell on people. Campion’s Oscar winning script is graced by fine performances, not least of all by Anna Paquin, making her screen debut. It is underpinned by Michael Nyman’s luminous and memorable soundtrack.