''An Angel at My Table'' is a 1990 biographical drama film directed by

Jane Campion Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and '' The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for which she has received a tot ...

. The film is based on

Janet Frame Janet Paterson Frame (28 August 1924 – 29 January 2004) was a New Zealand author. She was internationally renowned for her work, which included novels, short stories, poetry, juvenile fiction, and an autobiography, and received numerous awar ...

's three autobiographies, ''To the Is-Land'' (1982), ''An Angel at My Table'' (1984), and ''The Envoy from Mirror City'' (1984). The film was very well received. It won awards at the

New Zealand Film and Television awards New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...

, the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

, and second prize at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

Synopsis

''An Angel at My Table'' is a dramatisation of the autobiographies of New Zealand author

. Originally produced as a television

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

, the film, as with Frame's autobiographies, is divided into three sections, with the lead role played by three actresses who portray Frame at different stages of her life: Alexia Keogh (child), Karen Fergusson (teenager), and

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

(adult). The film follows Frame from when she grows up in a poor family, through her years in a mental institution, and into her writing years after her release.

Cast

as Janet Frame (adult) *Alexia Keogh as Janet Frame (child) *Karen Fergusson as Janet Frame (teenager) *Iris Churn as Mother * Kevin J. Wilson as Father *Melina Bernecker as Myrtle *Glynis Angell as Isabel *Mark Morrison as Bruddie Frame (child) *Sarah Llewellyn as June Frame (child) *Natasha Gray as Leslie *Brenda Kendall as Miss Botting *

Martyn Sanderson Martyn Sanderson (24 February 1938 – 14 October 2009) was a New Zealand actor, director, producer, writer and poet. Sanderson was described as one of the founding fathers of modern theatre in New Zealand. In New Zealand he had appearances ...

as Frank Sargeson

Awards

New Zealand Film and TV Awards New Zealand film and television awards have gone by many different names and have been organised by different industry groups. As of 2017, New Zealand has relaunched a standalone New Zealand Television Awards after a five-year hiatus. The film awar ...

(1990): **Best Cinematography: Stuart Dryburgh **Best Director:

**Best Film **Best Performance in Supporting Role:

**Best Female Performance:

**Best Screenplay: Laura Jones *

(1990): **International Critics Award:

Valladolid International Film Festival The Valladolid International Film Festival, popularly known as Seminci (short for ; ), is a film festival held annually in Valladolid, Spain. First held in 1956 as ('Valladolid Religious Film Week'), the Seminci is one of the longest-standing fi ...

(1990): **Best Actress:

(1990) **Elvira Notari Prize:

**Filmcritica "Bastone Bianco" Award:

** Grand Special Jury Prize:

**Little Golden Lion Award:

**OCIC Award:

Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics The Belgian Film Critics Association (french: Union de la critique de cinéma, UCC) is an organization of film critics from publications based in Brussels, Belgium. History The Belgian Film Critics Association was founded in the early 1950s in B ...

(UCC) (1992): **

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

Chicago Film Critics Association The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film critics Sharon LeM ...

(CFCA) (1992): **CFCA Award: Best Foreign Language Film *

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...

(1992) **Best Foreign Film:

Impact and reception

''An Angel at My Table'' was the first film from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

to be screened at the

, where it received multiple standing ovations and was awarded the Grand Special Jury Prize despite evoking yells of protest that it did not win The Golden Lion. In addition to virtually sweeping the local New Zealand film awards, it also took home the prize for best foreign film at the

and the International Critics' Award at the

. The film not only established

as an emerging director and launched the career of

, but it also introduced a broader audience to

's writing.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, stating; "

he film He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

tells its story calmly and with great attention to human detail and, watching it, I found myself drawn in with a rare intensity". The film also received praise in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' where film critic Derek Malcolm called it "one of the very best films of the year". ''The

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' wrote, "''Angel'' is a film where almost every image strikes the eye with the vividness of an inspired art composition: one where small incidents gain magical properties". ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said the film is "potentially painful and harrowing...imbued with gentle humor and great compassion, which makes every character come vividly alive". In 2019, the BBC polled 368 film experts from 84 countries to name the 100 greatest films directed by women, with ''An Angel at My Table'' voted at No. 47.

References

External links

* *
An Angel at My Table
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of ...

NZ On Screen page''An Angel at My Table''
at Oz Movies
''An Angel at My Table: Alone, Naturally''
an essay by

Amy Taubin Amy Taubin (born September 10, 1938) is an American author and film critic. She is a contributing editor for two prominent film magazines, the British ''Sight & Sound'' and the American ''Film Comment''. She has also written regularly for '' The ...

at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angel At My Table 1990 films 1990s New Zealand films 1990 drama films 1990 independent films 1990s biographical drama films 1990s coming-of-age drama films 1990s feminist films Australian biographical drama films Biographical films about writers British biographical drama films Films directed by Jane Campion Films set in New Zealand Films shot in New Zealand Independent Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film winners New Zealand biographical drama films Venice Grand Jury Prize winners Works by Janet Frame 1990s English-language films Films about sisters Films about puberty 1990s British films Films set in psychiatric hospitals Films about depression