SWEETIE (1989)

Directed By: Jane Campion Written By Gerard Lee & Jane Campion Cinematography: Sally Bongers  Editor: Veronika Haussler 

Cast: Genevieve Lemon, Karen Colston, Tom Lycos, Jon Darling, Dorothy Barry

An introspective young woman's life is upturned by the arrival of her maladjusted sister.

Not the first Jane campion movie I have seen but one of the few so far. Also One that I have so far enjoyed the most. 

The film plays like an awkward comedy of dysfunctions more than anything else.

It has emotional hard-hitting moments but most of the film. While beautifully and symbolically filmed. The characters all come off as strange or off for the sake of the story more than naturally.

The title character comes off the maddest and while it seems has a mental illness. One wants to take her to a professional. So that she drives everyone around her mad. As they have to take care of her and know she will never see any of her behavior as wrong. Yet she still kind of fits in with the rest of the characters.

As the film is frantic but comes off as a rather dry romantic comedy. That seems more composed rather than written. As the romantic comedy storyline. Is only one of few that runs throughout but is affected by the behavior of the title character. 

The longer you spend with the characters the more you care and get more invested. The same can be said of the film the longer you watch the more you get used to it and find yourself brought into the film’s and characters' world.

This is a film worth investing your time in. By the end, you feel like you were part of something special. 

Grade: B