# Hideous Kinky (1998)

### reviewed by
Akiva Gottlieb

    Hideous Kinky ***

    rated R
    starring Kate Winslet, Said Taghmaoui, Bella Riza, Carrie Mullan
    based on the novel by Esther Freud
    written by Billy MacKinnon
    directed by Gillies MacKinnon

Congratulations to Kate Winslet for defying the odds, by choosing to play the lead role in the small, but beautiful HIDEOUS KINKY as a follow-up to her Oscar nominated turn in TITANIC, the highest grossing and most expensive film of all time. But was this really such a surprise? Not at all, once you look at the wide range of films that the British actress appeared in before TITANIC. She showed incredible talent at a young age in such films as JUDE, HEAVENLY CREATURES and SENSE AND SENSIBILITY(for which she recieved her first Oscar nomination). Her latest, HIDEOUS KINKY, is an exotic odyssey that is much more than a star vehicle.

HIDEOUS KINKY is not a plot driven movie, but it tells the tale of a hippie named Julia(Kate Winslet) who has brought her two young girls(Bella Riza and Carrie Mullan) to Morocco to find peace, love, and faith in the early 70's. While in London, the children's father thrives as a poet, Julia has no money.

It is then that she meets Bilal(Said Taghmaoui), a Moroccan ex-con who is hiding from his past. He wins the affection of Julia and her children and he becomes like a father to them. Bilal seems to be a nice man, but he often vanishes at times when he is needed.

For all the wonder of HIDEOUS KINKY, the real pleasure comes from watching the two little girls onscreen. They both run around screaming wild phrases like "hideous kinky!" and each character is a presence on her own. It is rare for children to dominate a film, especially when matched up against Kate Winslet, who gives one of her better performances.

HIDEOUS KINKY reminded me a little of this year's A WALK ON THE MOON, because both are similar tales of a woman trying to find herself during the same time period. HIDEOUS KINKY's wondrous soundtrack combines Moroccan music with 60's hits, and John de Borman's luscious cinematography makes the film what it is.

Director Gillies MacKinnon(REGENERATION, A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE) has crafted a spritual gem, scripted by brother Billy. MacKinnon lets Kate Winslet show depth unseen in TITANIC, and he shows a talent for working with young actors. As for the film's title; it's a bit misleading, and I still haven't figured out what it means. But HIDEOUS KINKY is an independent film that takes us to places we've never been.

a review by Akiva Gottlieb, The Teenage Movie Critic akiva@excite.com http://www.angelfire.com/mo/film watch me on TBS' "Dinner And A Movie" May 21, 8:05pm EST

Get your free, private email at http://mail.excite.com/

The review above was posted to the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due to ASCII to HTML conversion.

Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews