Unusual and powerful

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2019)

The Piano (1993) was written and directed by Dame Jane Campion. It stars Holly Hunter as Ada McGrath, a woman who is mute. She arrives in New Zealand from Scotland, with her ten-year-old daughter, as a mail-order bride. Anna Paquin plays her daughter, Flora. Her husband, Alisdair Stewart, is portrayed by Sam Neill. Harvey Keitel is their neighbor.
It's hard to say much about the plot without revealing it, so I'll focus on other aspects of the movie. Just for the record, don't watch the trailer if you intend to see the film. The trailer tells too much about the plot.
Dame Jane Campion is a brilliant director, and Holly Hunter is perfect as a strong Victorian woman .Harvey Keitel and Sam Neill are both gifted actors, who give us solid performances.
However, Anna Paquin, a (then) amateur actor, steals the show as her mother's interpreter and companion. Paquin--at age 10--won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
This isn't a film for the squeamish or the faint of heart. (Or for people who are offended by nudity.) We saw it on DVD. It would work better in a theater--some of the scenic shots are breathtaking. The Piano has a very strong 7.6 IMDb rating. (Even the top 1,000 raters--who never like any movie--gave it a 7.1.) I think it deserves that rating and more.
P.S. Holly Hunter plays the piano herself in the film. It's hard to believe that it wasn't dubbed, because her playing is extraordinary.