An Angel at My Table (1991)

158 minutes long – and for what? A quarter of the scenes could have been dropped because they took the story nowhere. Many of the remaining scenes applied the directorial maxim "go in late and come out early" to a destructive extreme. It was like being given clues to a cryptic crossword.To be fair, the film started well. The first 20 minutes or so were acutely observed and well acted and directed, then it began going downhill with increasing speed.It was no surprise to learn that the film is a cut-down version of a TV mini-series. I can only assume that the IMDb reviewers who enjoyed the film must have known of Janet Frame and her story. For those of us who knew neither, it was unexplained mystery piled on unexplained mystery.It could be argued that a plus for the film was that it kept me watching to the end, but believe me, that was simply because I lived in (vain) hopes that all would suddenly be clarified with a satisfactory conclusion. But no. It just left me frustrated and deeply disappointed.

I loved this movie! i saw it in 1991 in Amsterdam while on vacation in a little dingy movie house that sold beer and it had dutch subtitles so it was quite an emotional and memorable feeling all the way around. I remember falling in love with everything about it. so heart wrenching. Some of the best acting i have ever seen.All of the performances are amazing, but Kerry Fox should have won an Oscar! She was nothing short of brilliant. The little chubby red head girl (Alexia Keogh) was also outstanding and i was surprised no, shocked seeing she has no other credits on IMDb. She was better than any child star working in Hollywood today.There are moments in the film that transcend motion picture film-making. Jane Campion is a serious artist as was Frame and it's truly a shame that so few people seem to know about it judging from the few user comments. I consider this film true cinematic art. I remember leaving the theater with my friend and not being able to speak it moved us so much. It haunted me in a way no film ever has before. Maybe it was being in Amserdam? Maybe it was the beer? No, it was the film.

Despite the numerous flaws of this movie, and unless one has half a brain or very poor taste, it's impossible to dislike this little gem.Jane Campion has a real talent to coregraph the character's inner worlds on screen, and reveal them openly to the viewer. It's a very strange gift as it almost never uses obvious "tricks", I mean I find it difficult to explain the way she does this. The use of emotionally manipulative music is obvious, of course, but it doesn't even bother me, on the contrary I let myself go, which is amazing considering my allergy to manipulative scores. But anyway this use of music does NOT explain the emotional power of "Angel" or "Piano", it's only a contribution.With all its weaknesses (mainly in the second act, in which the editing and continuity are awkward), "Angel" is another proof that cinema is indeed an art, and that making "art" cinema doesn't mean making artsy-fartsy movies for the snobbish. Here what we have as a result is real poetic power, not intellectual performance (though the latter was obviously needed to reach the goal..).I'll always prize filmmakers that are able to put so much heart in what they do. We badly need them.Oh and now that I've seen this one, I won't ever look at Jackson's derivative "Heavenly creatures" with the same awe.

An Angel at My Table tells the story of famed New Zealand author Janet Frame. We are drawn into the quiet world of the shy, red-haired girl who struggles with her life, but succeeds through her exceptional talent of writing. Since her autobiography was written in three separate volumes, we are treated to a film in three separate parts, beginning with her journey through childhood. The film does an excellent job at portraying the character of Frame, and her nervous attitude when brought into social situations. Every ounce of shyness is felt off-screen, which is a kudos to the direction of Campion, that plays an important part in making sure that this woman is brought to life, as realistic, and as close to the truth as possible.Growing up in poverty, with two hard-working parents, and 4 siblings, life must've been hard. But when you're thrust into such a difficult situation, it somehow seems normal and it doesn't bother that it's a much harder life than other people currently living are. But Janet lived through her childhood, finding that she would love to spend her life as a poet, or just writing. A depression hit her hard during her teenage years when an unexpected tragedy occurred, and she had chosen to write, instead of being with that person beforehand. Not knowing she was a depressed young person, Frame was sent to a mental hospital, and forced to undergo several shock treatments, under the incorrect diagnosis of schizophrenia. However, Frame persevered through it, using writing as a way of expressing her own thoughts. While still in the mental hospital, she was able to publish a book. The years inside the hospital are the most unpleasant of film, and Campion perfectly captures the deranged conditions that Janet experienced. The most remarkable part about the direction is how it doesn't go over the top to deliver a nauseating film in those scenes. Rather, she plays to the quiet personality of Frame. The film is kept with the same pace, and focused in a way that never wants to show itself off, but keeps the main character always in the center, without losing that focus.The blown-up biopic `Malcolm X' was released around a year later, and while I admire that film, it was also very hyped-up before it's release. I found a strange drawing power in the fact that Jane Campion's film wasn't about spectacle, but about someone's life that is done more sincerely, and realistically, paying close attention to details, both period and human. Something you wouldn't find in a Hollywood biopic, such as Milos Foreman's `Man on the Moon,' which I openly despise.The writer and director surprised me a bit concerning a small detail in the film. In films concerning `writing', and an exceptional author (Wonder Boys, Finding Forrester), there is never any real proof of how good the writer supposedly is. We are never allowed to read the great book they wrote, nor are there much of any excerpts written to prove to us that the writer is indeed as great as it is suggested. In films, I realize that it really isn't possible to show such a thing, since film is a visual medium instead of a literary one. Campion and the screenwriter know this, and without subjecting us to Frame's writing, she adds in some narration, using actress Kerry Fox's voice. The narration is spread out in small bits throughout the film, never taking control of telling the story. Instead, it conveys the thoughts going on in Frame's mind, which are all little excerpts from the writing contained in her autobiographies. It begins with narration and ends with it. A surprising detail that is small, but adds much to the overall film, and gives the ending a sweet, and optimistic touch to an amazing film. Frame was (is) talented at what she did most of the time, without knowing the talent was there. She only knew that she loved to do it, and wanted to continue doing it for the rest of her life. That is true talent. She had it, even at times when she thought there wasn't any hope; she had the ability to write. And because of that ability, that talent, she was able to gradually come to terms, and live comfortably with her life. ****1/2 of five or (9/10)