The events 
take place in the mid-19th century. Ada McGrath, along with her daughter, moves from Scotland to New Guinea to marry Alisdair Stewart, a man she has never met. Ada is mute; she does not speak. She communicates through signs and playing the piano. For her, the piano is a way to express her feelings and emotions. Without it, she cannot imagine her existence. It is like a part of her body, her soul. However, during the landing, there are no porters for the piano, and it is left behind on the shore. She suffers, but her new husband is preoccupied with his own affairs, and it means nothing to him. Unable to exist without music, Ada asks the guide, George Baines, to take her to the shore so she can play at least a little. George understands her and the significance of the piano to her.
He therefore buys the piano and offers Ada the chance to come to him and teach him to play. But what he truly wants is Ada herself and the emotions she conveys through her playing. A passion arises between them, gradually growing into deeper feelings.
The film brilliantly depicts how love emerges and the challenges and obstacles a man and a woman face in entering a relationship. It vividly demonstrates the complexities of navigating through a woman’s Oedipal complex and the struggle to claim the right to love. Ada nearly takes her own life, which symbolizes the death of her infantile self and her transition into adulthood.
I highly recommend it for viewing and discussion.
