Review of Black Narcissus (1947) by Michael S — 30 Jan 2012

Black Narcissus is an incredibly beautiful and erotic film about 5 missionary nuns who start a new convent in a former palace in a remote village in the Himalayas. Narcissus is a very sensual and surreal film; like The Red Shoes it uses the Technicolor, the cameras and the music to enhance the exotic surroundings to impart dreamlike quality, showing the dizzying heights of the Himalayas, even though the movie was filmed in Wales, and subtle shots of naked Hindu goddesses in sultry poses and a belly dance tease by a young Indian girl.

Jack Cardiff and his team really deserved the awards for cinematography and art direction. As with all the Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger movies Iâ(TM)ve seen (four now), the writing is very well done and you immediately know what it is they are trying to say and this story is about female desire and what repression of those desires does to them.

These stoic, fastidious nuns are met with blissfully exotic surroundings, clean water, constant wind, exotic smells and men; old forgotten memories and desires start flooding back and it makes one nun plant an entire vegetable garden full of flowers and another have a lapse of faith.

They can usually turn the surroundings off and concentrate on work but this place is different and you actually get a sense of how different. Kathleen Byron stands out as Sister Ruth; her performance is very intense and outspoken; she is visibly on the verge the whole time but itâ(TM)s subtle.

David Farrar, as Mr. Dean, the British agent in the village, is perfect for this movie. He is tall, dark and handsome and the sparks fly every time heâ(TM)s onscreen. The rest of the cast all give great performances and you know that the actors were all chosen very carefully and are believable.

The title, Black Narcissus, is very fitting because it refers to cologne worn by a character, and the movie reminds me of smelling cologne; the way it brings a memory like a mist. This is what those sisters experience and the amount of work and innovation that went in to conveying that to the viewer is why Powell and Pressburger were two of the best filmmakers of their day and their influence is seen even today.