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One of New Zealand's most famous poets (I'm not sure how long a list that really is), Janet Frame is proof positive that true art is suffering. The subject of Jane Campion's 1989 award-winner An Angel at My Table, Frame grew up lower class, a few licks above poverty, and developed into a shy young girl. Chubby, with bad teeth, and sporting a Marge Simpson-in-training shock of red hair, Frame belonged to a club where she was the only member. She was poetically gifted at a young age, something that hardly endears you to other pre-teens. As such, she hung out with other outcasts, never developing much of a dating life. As she grew up, her shyness remained and when she got a job as a teacher, her social awkwardness would be the cause of much misery. Thanks to 1940's doctors too ignorant or uncaring to properly diagnose her, Frame would be labeled schizophrenic and thrown into a mental hospital. She would be subjected to over 200 electroshock treatments and land on the short list for a lobotomy.
During her eight years in the mental hospital, she continued to write and her prose kept her alive in two ways: not only did writing keep her mind active, but it helped convince doctors that she wasn't crazy. Like all geniuses, she's wired a little differently. Upon release from the hospital, Frame begins to reach her full artistic potential in her 30s. She receives a writer's grant, which allows her to travel abroad, hang out with others like her and fall in love. It's an amazing tale of survival. Frame's poems and stories have made her great, but the story behind her poems and stories made her life worth telling in a movie.
Jane Campion originally directed the film for New Zealand television as a mini-series, and the film is broken up into three chapters. Campion shows two very admirable gifts, a gift for casting and a gift for simple storytelling. In terms of the former, three actresses play Frame at various stages of her life. And not only are they all terrific, but they're all exactly alike, in personality and in look. You can absolutely believe that young Janet (Alexia Keogh), grew into teenage Janet (Karen Fergusson), and then settled into being just Janet (Kerry Fox). But most importantly, the storytelling is without affectation. This may have been done because New Zealand television wasn't a big-budget operation, but on the big-screen, such smallness has unintended and welcome consequences. Dealing in close-ups and rare sweeping shots, Campion knows that Frame's story doesn't need the artifice inherent in making a film. She stays out of the way as much as possible. Such smallness keeps the story intimate. What the viewer takes away in terms of bigger ideas, the power of creativity, never compromising your dreams, etc., seeps through naturally. An Angel at My Table is never an overwhelming experience. It's a simple story told simply, about a woman who endured tremendously to get the artistic place she so longed for.
The Video: How Does The Disc Look?
Originally shot on 16 mm and blown up to 35 mm for theatrical distribution, the transfer looks great. Amazing even, when you consider it was shot in the smaller film format. Compared to older DVD releases of the movie, color reproduction is very accurate, with a greater depth than the other digital versions. Still, there remains very minimal low-budget washout. But overall the colors are very vibrant, with lush greens and smooth blacks. I expected an overwhelming amount of grain, but I only found very light grain, at worst. Detail is above average and flesh tones look accurate. Shadow detail is about average and there is some pixelation here and there. Otherwise, this 16 mm movie looks great on DVD.
The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track makes the best of a bad hand. Really, the movie doesn't need a 5.1 mix, but Criterion makes a nice effort to justify the expense. Dialogue has an on-location thinness to it, but it's always understandable. The music also sounds thin and sometimes a tad shrill. It's just an observation, however; it won't detract from your enjoyment of the movie. There are some instances of aural creativity, but really not much. Schoolyard sounds and the sound of trains rolling by excite the side channels. The surrounds don't do much worth noting. While pops and clicks have been removed, I did notice some very mild hiss.
There are also English Closed Captions and subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
A decent batch of supplements gives us an inkling of how the film was made and how close it is to Jane Campion's heart. Especially appreciated is a booklet containing excerpts from Janet Frame's autobiography.
There is a pieced-together audio commentary that is nonetheless well done. It features Campion, who was recorded in 2003, DP Stuart Dryburgh, recorded in April 2005, and actress Kerry Fox, recorded in June 2005. Frame first came to Campion's attention when the director was only 13 and she read her again in film school. She also talks about the casting and how the casting director would later find Anna Paquin for Campion's The Piano. Dryburgh talks mostly of technical issues, which are the least interesting. Fox, who played the adult Janet, says she was ìheavily protectedî during the shoot, since she had to have a lot of ìconcentration and internal thought.î Hearing about how the crew helped her stay in character and protect her process was interesting. It would have been great to have all three participants in one room, but this cobbled together effort is excellent.
The Making of An Angel at My Table is a ten-minute featurette that takes the place of a full-blown documentary. Produced in 2002 by Bridget Ikin, the piece starts with Campion and her editor in the edit bay. In voice-over and on-camera, Campion explains that Frame's difficult New Zealand childhood resonated with the director, who also grew up in New Zealand. There's nice, intimate footage of Campion directing Kerry Fox as she records her narration. There's also footage of Frame, shot circa the film's release. I wish there were more of this documentary, but the brief ten minutes provided do help. Audio is thin, but understandable. Video is vintage looking, which means some hilarious ë80s fashions from the ladies.
Next are six deleted scenes, none of which are substantial, adding up to only about three minutes. Most of them show various aspects of Janet's awkwardness and loneliness, the best being when she's denied playing jump rope with her school friends.
The best supplement is My Say: An Interview with Janet Frame. After the publication of the first volume of her autobiography, the reclusive Frame agreed to an interview with Radio New Zealand. Recorded in 1983, the author seems endearingly oblivious as to why people want to write about her and ask questions about her. ìI just write and that is my telling,î Frame says. There's a certain nobility in that. For some reason, I couldn't fast-forward through the interview. I could only return to the menu by pressing the Stop or Menu button. So once you start the interview, you ain't stoppin' it unless you press Stop or Menu.
Finally, we have an original trailer and a Stills Gallery. The photos in the gallery where taken by co-producer John Maynard. There are on-set shots, as well as shots of Campion directing her own mother, who has a brief bit as a teacher.
Final Thoughts
Director Jane Campion has disappeared as of late, but watching An Angel at My Table will give you a hint as to where we all thought she was headed. Humanistic and lacking in melodramatics, the film is a bit of a sit, but it's a rewarding experience. Criterion has delivered a great transfer, considering the 16 mm source, and some enlightening extras.
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