Film Review - Black Narcissus (1947)

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Black Narcissus is a film with contains the three struggles which make good drama. Man against the world, Man against Man and Man against himself, the film deals with the human struggle of isolation, being trapped in an environment such as a gilded cage (The palace of Mopu), and repressed carnal and sexual desires. We find ourselves watching the story unfold of these Anglican Nuns going to set up a hospital and school in a disused Haram once used by the General to house his Concubines. The set is a great example of being so harsh that it effects the characters and gives us our underlying theme of isolation. The Castle is called 'The Palace of Mopu' and is situated on a stunning extreme cliff edge, hundreds of feet above the village. It is an incredibly grand, isolating and belittling environment. "The painted landscapes by Walter Percy ‘Poppa’ Day and co are a thing of wonder. Aesthetically it takes particular inspiration from the work of Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer." (Simmonds, 2017) 

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To add to this sweat box of isolation we have once of the main characters come in. His name is Dean and he is the only Englishman in the film, he is intrinsic to the Nuns because he is their only link to trade and the outside world. It is not often that there is a male at the centre of sexual objectification, but in Black Narcissus it plays a key role in how the film unfolds. 

"Dean's charms seem to have some effect on Sister Clodagh, but they also ignite the buried passions of Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) who becomes increasingly jealous of her superior." (Mirasol, 2017) 

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Unable to escape him he becomes the catalyst, the Nuns fight off repressed sexual urges which eventually drive Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron) into a mad Hysteria. Through this we can see the brilliance of technicolor where the film gradually goes from dull, muted, clean lit colours to deep reds, and shadows, right near the end the scene is into the Horror Genre and is almost completely black with shadows. The colour red is subliminally used during this film to signify lust, passion and desire, and plays a huge part in the underlying theme of repressed sexual urges.      

"If, as it appears, the intention of Black Narcissus is to demonstrate that religious zeal is dependent on suitable climatic and social surroundings, then history has already provided the answer to this thesis." (Pryor, 2017) This is a case of a group going to an environment in order to change it, but instead the environment changes them. Pryon hits right on the mark here and says exactly what we are all thinking. Black Narcissus wouldn't be the same film is it if there was any single thing different, the baroque environment, subtle changes throughout the film in regard to lighting, the isolating overtones, tension between the Nuns and Dean and cast are all boiled down into a hot pot which produced a masterpiece in story telling, and themes underlying.

Bibliography:

Mirasol, M. (2017). [online] Rogerebert.com. Available at: https://www.rogerebert.com/far-flung-correspondents/black-narcissus-which-electrified-scorsese [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Pryor, T. (2017). Movie Review - - BLACK NARCISSUS - NYTimes.com. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=ee05e7df173ce261bc4c52dfbe66838c659ede [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Simmonds, E. (2017). 'Black Narcissus' Is Truly, Madly, Hysterically Wonderful. [online] PopMatters. Available at: https://www.popmatters.com/129821-black-narcissus-2496150755.html [Accessed 20 Nov. 2017].

Illustrations:

Figure 1 - Black Narcissus. (1947). [film] Directed by M. Powell and E. Pressburger. Pinewood Studios: Pinewood Studios.

Figure 2 - Black Narcissus. (1947). [film] Directed by M. Powell and E. Pressburger. Pinewood Studios: Pinewood Studios.

Figure 3 - Black Narcissus. (1947). [film] Directed by M. Powell and E. Pressburger. Pinewood Studios: Pinewood Studios.