ABOUT THE FILM
An Angel At My Table was the second feature film by director
Jane Campion who went on to make the widely acclaimed Portrait
of a Lady and The Piano. An Angel At My Table is based on the
autobiography of New Zealand poet and novelist Janet Frame. The
film was originally shot as a three-part mini series for television
before being re-edited into a 35mm cinema release.
The film tells the story of a plain, plump, stubborn, introverted
redhead whose determination to be a writer sets her apart from her
poor but loving rural background in New Zealand. Jean is the opposite
of every Hollywood heroine - she is not slim, beautiful, sophisticated
or sexy. She is shy and awkward even as a child and as she grows
up family tragedy makes her alienated, isolated and finally very
vulnerable to her own sensitivity and emotions. Jean retreats into
a world of fantasy and finally has a nervous breakdown.
Jean is committed to an institution for eight years where she is
wrongly diagnosed as an incurable schizophrenic. Her parents do not
wish Jean harm but have no real understanding of what is happening
to their daughter. She is subjected to many humiliations as well
as the horrors of electric shock treatment and the threat finally
of brain surgery. She manages to leave hospital before this can take
place and meets an eccentric writer called Frank who gives her some
accommodation near his cottage whilst she struggles to write. Once
she has had some short stories published, Frank encourages her to
go travelling and she wins a literary scholarship to Europe. She
travels to London and Paris and still further to Ibiza where she
has her first love affair. Finally, she returns home to New Zealand
to make her life as a full-time writer.
Films have often been unsuccessful in portraying a writer or
artist's life but not this one. They often seem to put creativity
and madness and destruction together as in films about Van Gogh.
To be an artist you have to be or go mad. Jane Campion tells
her story in a seemingly disjointed and episodic way but she
also stores up layers of recurring images and experiences which
echo throughout the film so that we come to believe in Janet's
striking imagination and intellect. The film has a strong sense
of place whether in the intimacy and plain beauty of her family
surroundings or in the austere chaos of the hospital wards she
is forced to live in later. Jean's strong sense of her own creative
talent sustains her even though life undermines her at many turns.
We watch her go from madness and depression to creativity and
fulfilment. This is a very positive film about what it means
to be an artist.
TASKS AND ACTIVITIES
The screenplay stresses how important writing and books are? Give
four examples of her love of words.
How does Jane Campion, the director, create a sense of Jean's loneliness?
Give three examples. What does the film maker use to emphasise this?
Look at locations, camerawork, lighting and music.
What kind of family life does Jean have? Describe her parents and
her brothers and sisters.
Write a short description of a young girl who feels isolated and
misunderstood both at home and at school; she feels as though she
doesn't fit in anywhere. Now write her diary for a week, describing
her activities, her life and her feelings.
Jane Campion is a female director. Do you think a male director
might have portrayed Jean differently? Are all the women in the film
positively portrayed?
There appear to be a number of authority figures in the film of
Janet Frame's life. What effect do they have on her?
What is the significance of the song 'Green grow the rushes oh'
which occurs several times in the film?
Images of dancing, swimming and drowning are repeated in the film.
Give examples of six scenes where these occur and say what their
meanings are.
What kind of music is used for the soundtrack to the film and what
effect does it have? |
