Holy Smoke

A dingy, daffy, Australian-flavored comedy about conviction, faith and self-awareness, Holy Smoke stars Kate Winslet as a young woman seduced by Eastern religion while traveling in India, with Harvey Keitel as the American deprogrammer retained by her panicked, sheltered, suburbanite parents to snap our Kate out of a perceived fog of cult influence. Co-written (with her sister) and directed by Jane Campion (The Piano, Portrait of a Lady) with a cheeky bent for absurdist humor, the picture takes an unfortunate turn for the worse after the pivotal moment when Winslet turns the tables on Keitel by seducing him. Plenty of fun but quite flawed, this is an optional purchase. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Jan. 31, 2012—Echo Bridge, 115 min., R, $6.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1999's Holy Smoke! sports a solid transfer but no special features. Bottom line: a lesser film from Campion, but this earlier Kate Winslet vehicle is worth picking up at a budget price.]