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Films  ›  Jane Campion

The Piano (1993)

Film
DirectorJane Campion
Meta takes5

Figures

Objects & symbols
  • Ada's Victorian clothing (crinolines, bonnets, gloves).
Locations
  • The New Zealand bush landscape.
Form & technique
Tropes
  • Ada's piano playing as an expression of her sexuality. → The Excess of Jouissance
  • The representation of Māori characters.
  • The bartering scenes between Ada and Baines for the piano keys.
  • The film's emphasis on touch (fingers on keys, skin, mud). → Haptic Visuality
  • The film's ambiguous "happy ending." → The Pastiche Playbook
  • Ada's elective mutism as a form of protest.
  • Flora's role as interpreter and her eventual betrayal.

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