Review of Black Narcissus (1947) by Christina C — 04 Sep 2007

One of the most visually striking films I've ever seen, and one that still unsettles the viewer. Powell & Pressburger make full use of Technicolour to bring this story to life - just see the monochrome nuns' habits against the vivid, sensual Himalayan backdrop. The central dilemma: how to live in, control a world like this? Some try to force order on it, others give themselves up to fatalism in all its sensuality and callousness, others dally dangerously with both forces, and the holy man on the mountain remains impervious to all.

Although based on an excellent book by Rumer Godden, this is a film told most powerfully in the cinematic language - in the full-blooded, hyperreal images and nightmarish final act (reportedly paced to its soundtrack music, rather than vice versa).