Review of Black Narcissus (1947) by Robben M — 27 Dec 2009

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, one of my favorite film-making teams. Specializing in the fantasmic world of film, where everything is for effect, emotions are painted in broad strokes, and the fantasy becomes real.

BLACK NARCISSUS is no different, and it represents a key work in their technicolor work. It tells the seemingly sedate story of a convent in the Himalayas.

Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is the mother superior, given the job in the wake of previous monks who left the enigmatic "house of women", given to the nuns by an Indian General.

Their agent is the British Mr. Dean, a rather sarcastic character who has allowed the sensuous senses into his life-style, standing in stark contrast to the repressed, monochromatic order of the convent.

Tensions arise as resources are insufficient to help the natives (who have been paid by the general to come to the convent for help), various nuns are finding it hard to concentrate and Sister Ruth is going mad from sexual starvation.

Throughout all this, Sister Clodagh remains steadfast even though the odds are stacked against them.

The plot however, is subservient to the look and feel of the film; Technicolor is sumptuous in Jack Cardiff's hand, and the picture's already dreamy look becomes downright surreal: deliberately artificial looking sets, theatrical lighting, and wild colors become more pronounced, becoming both frightening and beautiful.

Set design is exotic, resembling some sort of fever dream. The fact that almost all of the film was shot on a sound-stage makes it more fantastical.

The performances are appropriately overwrought, becoming more stylized as the film goes on, and Powell and Pressburger, accordingly, match the look. At one point, the film becomes physically red, as one character goes crazy, and then the screen is filled with bright blue for a few seconds. Its utterly surreal and shocking.

Since Powell plays fast and loose with film form and style, it's no wonder this movie has had such a strong influence throughout the years.

In the end, it's hard to tell why the film went down the path it did. Was it because of madness? Sex? The exotic dreams of the "house of women"?

It doesn't matter, BLACK NARCISSUS is a dream ballet, from start to finish.