New releases from Public Image Ltd, William Basinski, John Luther Adams
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Film round-up: June 15
This week the Star's critic reviews The Piano, The Ciambra, Ocean's 8, Hereditary, and Studio 54
Banksy’s identity may have been published – but was the investigation in the public interest, asks PETER BENGTSEN
RON JACOBS recommends a book that charts the disparate circumstances that defined the lives of two prominent black Afro-Americans — one a communist, the other an anti-communist
CHRIS MOSS joins the hunt in Argentina for the works of Poland’s most enigmatic exile
SYLVIA HIKINS welcomes a survey of successful contemporary worker co-operatives and economy-based co-operative systems
DAVID NICHOLSON recommends the staging of this Wagnerian classic minus one or two insignificant quibbles
The Piano (15)
Directed by Jane Campion
★★★★★
NEW Zealand film-maker Jane Campion’s justly lauded Oscar-nominated third feature film deservedly won Academy Awards in 1993 for best screenplay and Oscar nominations for best picture and best director.
Re-released after a quarter of a century, The Piano's potent dramatic force, extraordinary performances and uniquely compelling story reinforces its status as a cinema classic along with enhancing the reputation of Campion — the first woman director to win the top prize at the 1993 Cannes film festival — as a genuine auteur.
Set in the mid-1850s, the film tells the story of Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her young daughter Flora (Anna Paquin) who arrive in New Zealand after a lengthy voyage from Scotland but end up left on a beach with their belongings and a piano.
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