My personal recommendation is to watch this movie more than once...

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2003)

Warning: Spoilers sprinkled throughout!
When this movie came out 10 years ago, I watched it and thought it quite good. I have watched it again, for each of the past two days, and come away with a much deeper appreciation... even passion for it.
I found I was able to grasp so many more of the expressions and bits of dialogue which I had missed in previous viewings. My personal recommendation is to watch this movie more than once. The first may capture you with its story and the passion which flows through it but there is so much blatantly "visual" material that you can't absorb the rest.
I can see how some of the other reviewers could form their opinion that this was soft porn, as there is plenty of simple nakedness and scenes of people loving. However, to me, Baines' disregard for clothing simply goes along with his blunt honesty. Why hide what you are feeling or thinking? When you see him bathing and washing his clothes in the river with his Maori(an?) friends, his nakedness and that of the others does not seem pornographic, just practical and comfortable. It makes the uptight "civilized" folks seem even more pathetic. Sometimes, clothes just get in the way.
During subsequent viewings pay special attention to the facial expressions, especially of Ada while she plays her piano. When you do, you sense a bit of what Baines (Harvey Keitel) is stirred by. Unable to speak, Ada plays her piano, and it is as if she doesn't miss the ability to speak with her mouth, as the music she can produce with her fingers is so much more beautiful than spoken words. It wasn't until my second viewing that I caught that Ada was able to speak with her mind to her former lover, like laying music on a sheet. At first I thought she was just telling a fantasy or sugar-coated story to her young daughter, the product of that particular relationship. Towards the end of the movie, however, when her situation seems so hopeless, she allows herself to communicate with her "husband" the truth of her need and sadness. It took something so shocking to break him out of the morbid path he was bent on following, and it works, much to the relief of the characters and the viewers.
Perhaps one of the ideas I was struck by is the recurrence of being slapped in the face by the reality that one's ability to speak (Ada), or read (Baines), or see (the piano tuner) does not always limit one from finding ways to express and fully enjoy passion and joy. Sometimes, it seems, a person can allow that "disability" to send them more fully in other directions, perhaps finding their way less distracted because they focus so much more on the senses or abilities they still have. Sometimes I have caught myself recognizing that my life might be so much simpler if I was only really interested in one or two things instead of the myriad fascinations that strike me and take me down different paths.
Baines has found his place in New Zealand, with the Maori people instead of in Europe with his wife. He is surrounded by their love and respect and you can't help but notice the happiness they find in their simple ways. The blunt honesty in their speech seems to match that of Baines. This contrasts greatly with the stilted Victorian mannerisms of Ada's husband and other European settlers there. Ada doesn't fit in with them and likely never did even while in Europe. At first you think that is because of her muteness, but then you see her fire and forthright spirit shining in her daughter Flora. It becomes obvious that their honesty and beauty will just wilt away if they stay in the oppressive "civilized" world.
The ending, with Flora contentedly cartwheeling across the grass and Ada playing her piano and sharing a tremendous love with Baines, was beautiful. I smile just thinking about it and look forward to owning the DVD.