The Piano

Jane Campion’s “The Piano” is a terse, evocative tale set in 19th-century New Zealand, where Ada, a mute pianist, is shipped off to a remote frontier by her father to marry a stranger named Stewart. Ada’s instrument becomes a bargaining chip, traded for land, and her silence a battleground. As Ada and her spirited daughter struggle to adapt, a volatile bond forms between Ada and the brooding, enigmatic frontiersman Baines, complicating her arranged marriage and entangling her in a web of desire and power.