# An Angel at My Table

An Angel at My Table is a 1990 biographical drama film directed by Jane Campion. The film is based on Janet Frame's three autobiographies, To the Is-Land (1982), An Angel at My Table (1984), and The Envoy from Mirror City (1984). The film was very well received. It won awards at the New Zealand Film and Television awards, the Toronto International Film Festival, and second prize at the Venice Film Festival.

## Synopsis

An Angel at My Table is a dramatisation of the autobiographies of New Zealand author Janet Frame. Originally produced as a television miniseries, the film, as with Frame's autobiographies, is divided into three sections, with the lead role played by three actresses who portray Frame at different stages of her life: Alexia Keogh (child), Karen Fergusson (teenager), and Kerry Fox (adult). The film follows Frame from when she grows up in a poor family, through her years in a mental institution, and into her writing years after her release.

## Cast

* Kerry Fox as Janet Frame (adult)
** Alexia Keogh as Janet Frame (child)
** Karen Fergusson as Janet Frame (teenager)
* Iris Churn as Mother
* Kevin J. Wilson as Father
* Melina Bernecker as Myrtle
* Glynis Angell as Isabel
* Mark Morrison as Bruddie Frame (child)
* Sarah Llewellyn as June Frame (child)
* Natasha Gray as Leslie
* Brenda Kendall as Miss Botting
* Martyn Sanderson as Frank Sargeson

## Awards

* New Zealand Film and TV Awards (1990):
** Best Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh
** Best Director: Jane Campion
** Best Film
** Best Performance in Supporting Role: Martyn Sanderson
** Best Female Performance: Kerry Fox
** Best Screenplay: Laura Jones
* Toronto International Film Festival (1990):
** International Critics Award: Jane Campion
* Valladolid International Film Festival (1990):
** Best Actress: Kerry Fox
* Venice Film Festival (1990)
** Elvira Notari Prize: Jane Campion
** Filmcritica "Bastone Bianco" Award: Jane Campion
** Grand Special Jury Prize: Jane Campion
** Little Golden Lion Award: Jane Campion
** OCIC Award: Jane Campion
* Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics (UCC) (1992):
** Grand Prix
* Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) (1992):
** CFCA Award: Best Foreign Language Film
* Independent Spirit Awards (1992)
** Best Foreign Film: Jane Campion

## Impact and reception

An Angel at My Table was the first film from New Zealand to be screened at the Venice Film Festival, where it received multiple standing ovations and was awarded the Grand Special Jury Prize despite evoking yells of protest that it did not win The Golden Lion. In addition to virtually sweeping the local New Zealand film awards, it also took home the prize for best foreign film at the Independent Spirit Awards and the International Critics' Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film not only established Jane Campion as an emerging director and launched the career of Kerry Fox, but it also introduced a broader audience to Janet Frame's writing.
Roger Ebert gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, stating; "[The film] tells its story calmly and with great attention to human detail and, watching it, I found myself drawn in with a rare intensity". The film also received praise in The Guardian where film critic Derek Malcolm called it "one of the very best films of the year". The Sydney Morning Herald wrote, "Angel is a film where almost every image strikes the eye with the vividness of an inspired art composition: one where small incidents gain magical properties". Variety said the film is "potentially painful and harrowing...imbued with gentle humor and great compassion, which makes every character come vividly alive". In 2019, the BBC polled 368 film experts from 84 countries to name the 100 greatest films directed by women, with An Angel at My Table voted at No. 47.