So this is another, much older, Jane Campion movie; like The Power of the Dog, it’s set in New Zealand, but unlike that one, it doesn’t pretend it’s set in Montana.

The basic premise is… man, okay, as I go to write this out, it sounds completely absurd. So rather than try to explain the plot of this movie at the exact right level of detail for it to make a lick of sense but also not just comprehensively spoil the thing, I’m going to skip it. If you want to find out what it’s about, just watch it.

What I will say is that it combines its over-the-top gothic melodrama with a kind of bizarre eroticism (I feel like it’s aiming at someone’s very specific fetishes) and hints of secrets that don’t all get revealed. Before watching this, I thought it was some kind of Merchant-Ivory-esque parlor drama thing, and it’s hard to be more wrong than that. It is absolutely the opposite.

Beyond the story, it’s visually lush; it actually reminds me less of Campion’s own The Power of the Dog and more of First Cow, because this is set in a moist clime teeming with dense greenery. It’s also supremely well-acted; everyone’s doing a great job, but the particular standouts are Holly Hunter as this mute and stony-faced woman who occasionally bursts into rage or other passions; and young babby Anna Paquin as this startlingly loquacious and mischievous kid.

This won all kinds of acclaim when it came out, and it’s easy to see why. Highly recommended.