Electronic Telegraph

Kate Winslet admits
new film was a challenge

Wednesday 22 March 2000

KATE WINSLET was joined by her husband, Jim Threapleton, at the British premiere of her new film, Holy Smoke, last night.

The 24-year-old actress, who last month announced she was pregnant, also attended the screening, at the Odeon West End cinema in London's Leicester Square, with the film's co-writer Anna Campion.

Winslet plays a young Australian who joins a religious cult in India and falls under the spell of a guru. A battle of the sexes ensues after her family trick her into returning home and hire an American counsellor, played by the American actor Harvey Keitel, to reverse her brainwashing in a deprogramming session in the outback.

She said: "It's a brilliant story, and of all the films I've done it's the one I care about most. It was a real challenge for me. It is by no means a masterpiece, but it's a really interesting movie. I've read articles about it and it sounds as if we've made this steamy, erotic film, but it's not that at all. It's about a young girl on a journey to find her heart."