Hideous Kinky (1998)

65% of critics liked it
(52 reviews)
56% of users liked it
(7,570 ratings)

Gillies MacKinnon directed this $5.6 million production with a screenplay by his brother, Billy MacKinnon. The film adapts the 1992 autobiographical novel by Esther Freud (Sigmund Freud's granddaughter) about hippie misadventures in North Africa in 1972, as described by a five-year-old girl.… More Gillies MacKinnon directed this $5.6 million production with a screenplay by his brother, Billy MacKinnon. The film adapts the 1992 autobiographical novel by Esther Freud (Sigmund Freud's granddaughter) about hippie misadventures in North Africa in 1972, as described by a five-year-old girl. Disenchanted with the dreary conventions of English life, 25-year-old Julia (Kate Winslet) heads for Morocco with her children, six-year-old Lucy (Carrie Mullan) and precocious eight-year-old Bea (Bella Riza). Living at a low-rent Marrakesh hotel, the trio survives on the sale of hand-sewn dolls and a few checks from the girls' father, a London poet who also has a child by another woman. After the girls match their mother with gentle Moroccan acrobat and con man Bilal (Said Taghmaoui), sexual gears are set in motion, and he moves in, serving as a surrogate father. Julia's friend Eva (Sira Stampe) urges Julia to study in Algiers with a revered Sufi master at a school of "the annihilation of the ego," and in another sequence European dandy Santoni invites Julia and the girls to his villa. As finances dwindle, Julia's philosophy is "God will provide," although usually it's Bilal who provides. This film was shot October-November 1997 in Morocco, where Winslet caught a stomach bug. Back in London, she went directly into the hospital and thus missed Titanic's London premiere. The score blends North African music with British-American pop hits of the '60s. The film's title derives from a word game played by the girls. Shown at the 1998 Dinard Festival of British Cinema and the 1998 London Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: Gillies MacKinnon
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 1, 1998 Wide
On DVD: Oct 26, 1999
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader
The fusion of dream sequences and evocative landscapes makes the characters' feverish sense of living at the edge of reality contagious.
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
Kate Winslet, luscious in a brilliantly colored caftan and flushed from the heat of an African sun, makes a beautiful hippie, circa 1972, in Hideous Kinky.
Lisa Nesselson, Variety
Kate Winslet continues an uninterrupted line of fine performances with the modest yet affecting Hideous Kinky.
Peter Rainer, New York Magazine
It augurs well for the long-term integrity of her career that Winslet in this movie doesn't try to ingratiate herself with the audience.
James Berardinelli, ReelViews
While there are all the usual misadventures and colorful characters, the mother/daughter and sister/sister bonds form the gel that holds everything together and gives Hideous Kinky a unique identity.
Charles Taylor, Salon.com
Winslet suffers from the movie's inability to give a fuller picture of Julia, and in some ways she just seems too grounded, too sensible to carry off the character's flightiness.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The film's gradual slide into a darker vision of the casual selfishness and presumption that often lay at the heart of Westerners' mind-bending journeys to the East is subtle and quietly devastating.
, Film4
It presents a dull life amid colourful surroundings.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
A picturesque travelogue of some substance.
Mark Halverson, Sacramento News & Review
Gillies MacKinnon spins Esther Freud's autobiographical novel into an intriguing, somewhat muddled tale of escapism and revelation.
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
It seems to please the Baby Boomer generation, but it didn't please me.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
MacKinnon draws terrific performances from all involved (Winslet bravely refusing to court our sympathies), lets character, mood and meaning take precedence over story, and assembles a great music track as a bonus. Spot on.
Dan Lybarger, Nitrate Online
Winslet is terrific as a mother whose quest for spiritual enlightenment comes at the expense of her family.

Read all 13 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Megan S

I enjoyed the movie. I watched it a while ago so I don't have much to offer. I remember thinking that it was very pretty. The young girls were adorable.
Lady D

An enjoyable performance by Kate Winslett, who plays the part of a hippie mother living in Marrakesh with her two daughters, struggling to earn money from day to day. This drama was a little slow moving and not hugely exciting yet enjoyable and intriguing and an opportunity to… More
An enjoyable performance by Kate Winslett, who plays the part of a hippie mother living in Marrakesh with her two daughters, struggling to earn money from day to day. This drama was a little slow moving and not hugely exciting yet enjoyable and intriguing and an opportunity to delve into a new culture.
Michael G

The only highlights of Hideous Kinky were a shot of Kate Winslet's boobs and a few slightly amusing scenes. Not anything to base an entire movie off of. Actually that shot wasn't even that flattering, the more I think about it. Mainly the movie just wanders around forever… More
The only highlights of Hideous Kinky were a shot of Kate Winslet's boobs and a few slightly amusing scenes. Not anything to base an entire movie off of. Actually that shot wasn't even that flattering, the more I think about it. Mainly the movie just wanders around forever like it took some bad acid and woke up 3 states away.
Joey N

There's really not going alot in this movie. It's over an hour in till something actually happens. To be honest, if it was anyone else but Kate Winslet I probably wouldn't be interested in it in the first place, but homegirl brings it. Natural, lively, and always… More
There's really not going alot in this movie. It's over an hour in till something actually happens. To be honest, if it was anyone else but Kate Winslet I probably wouldn't be interested in it in the first place, but homegirl brings it. Natural, lively, and always watchable; that's my girl.
Sarah P

I don't think this is something I'd come back to and watch over and over again. But Kate Winslet was great as a self-centered and, at times, delusional mother who still really does care for her kids. Interesting and well acted.
Remi L

Good indie movie that portrays "Arabs" and Muslims in a humanizing light. It was refreshing to see these people of color portrayed as something other than terrorists and foils in some unimaginative action film. "Kinky" made me a fan of Saïd Taghmaoui and made me… More
Good indie movie that portrays "Arabs" and Muslims in a humanizing light. It was refreshing to see these people of color portrayed as something other than terrorists and foils in some unimaginative action film. "Kinky" made me a fan of Saïd Taghmaoui and made me respect Kate Winslet more as an actress. I was particularly surprised (and proud, actually) to see North Africans actually calling themselves "African." I'd love to see more films like this.
Leo L

Great movie! Fascinating story plot about the adventures of a young woman and her two daughters. Definitely worth seeing!!