"It's the most erotic film that i have ever made. It is all done by suggestion, but eroticism is in every frame and image, from the beginning to the end." —Michael Powell
(This is the most erotic film I've ever made, with only metaphors, but every frame and every picture is erotic from start to finish. - Michael Powell)
"Black Narcissus" may be a sign of full maturity in the directorial sequence of Powell and Pressberg. It's as rich and complex as their previous films, with outstanding style and beauty. But it's their darkest film to date, a decadent, poignant look through it, ostensibly Black Narcissus telling the story of a group of nuns who build schools and hospitals in the remote Himalayas, Bold and striking, and while it's a bit less surreal than its predecessor, Step by Step, it still oscillates back and forth between drama and fantasy, presenting an exaggerated world that's as oversaturated as its colors.
"Black Narcissus" is set in India, and with the help of the differences in geographical environment and social civilization between the East and the West, in the set up studio, the West's magnificent imagination of the Eastern ignorant Garden of Eden is unfolded. The film takes the four nuns hosted by Crota as the main point of view, and comes to the secret realm of Mopu, an exotic eastern land hidden deep in the mountains of India, to launch a missionary activity called "Holy Faith". Under the auspices of Crota, the nuns established schools and hospitals in the monastery and toiled in the devastated Mope in the form of angels. However, under the subtle influence of the natural environment and human nature, the nuns' efforts to maintain a clean life and the balance with the outside world were broken, causing intense dramatic contradictions.
It's a story about women and their place in postwar society, it's a story about colonial rule and Britain's changing place on the world stage. But at the heart of it is a story about repressed sex and desire.
Based on the novel by Rumer Gelton, Black Narcissus was the perfect material for Powell and Pressberg, one of the main thrusts of the film. Pressberg has been fascinated by the influence of environment on characters since the silent era. The film begins with the magnificent view of the Himalayas, and we realize that the story will unfold in this vast and harsh environment. The majestic mountain scenery, coupled with the constant howling wind on the top of the mountain, reflects the inner feelings of the women who moved here. The entanglement, we see the palace standing on the desolate and dignified cliff, as if even with the shelter of their new home, they are not safe in this terrible terrain, and the harsh environment affects every place. The Mope Palace, which was given to the nuns, was once the prince's harem, and at first glance this palace for pleasure was an awkward residence for the nuns.
The murals are in stark contrast to the characters of the nuns, but as the story progresses, they map the nuns more and more accurately, foreshadowing that sexuality can conquer anyone, regardless of her beliefs, in this harsh and expansive environment, the nuns Obsessed with their lives before they joined the monastery, poisoning their nature and their duties contradict each other, like the incongruity between the monastery and the Himalayan terrain.
In a series of flashbacks, host Crotta reveals her life before joining the monastery. Her initial image is traditional male attire, laying the foundation for her subjective initiative, which she eventually gave up and succumbed to the church. Repeatedly recalling a life where she was once free to pursue love, even showing that she gave her first night to a man who left her to work in America.
It can be said that the film uses the devout appearance of the nuns to cover up the deep erotic desires, which is so controversial that when it is released in the United States, these flashbacks are all cut. As Catholic scrutiny sees it insulting the religion, sexual inconsistencies lead to the monastery's demise, and as Sister Claude struggles with her old love, the capricious Sister Ruth has a deep crush on the masculine but slutty Mr Dean. Deep infatuation, Sister Ruth's insanity is on the verge of being insane, almost to the point of being possessed by the devil. After she takes off her protective white robe and puts on a more dangerous red dress and red lips, she becomes the messenger of an out-of-control egoism. , desperate to destroy the hypocritical organization that represses human desires in her eyes, Ruth's depravity is the incarnation of the outbreak after repression. The irony is that the only character who doesn't give in to dangerous desires is Conch, a young Indian girl who is brought to the nuns to study liturgy, Conch fully embraces her sexuality, so she refuses to monasticism and rebels against the morals the church is trying to impose on her. , at the end of the movie she married the young general.
It's not hard to guess that she was lifted out of poverty as a result, and at the end the nuns came down the mountain and set off for England, and we took one last look at the monastery, which was gradually completely obscured by the clouds, and we realized that although the nuns came with good intentions, the locals would rather they had never been there. In the real world, this is the last year of British rule in India, and the film strongly indicts the arrogance of British colonialism and blindly believes that Britain knows what is best for the colonized.
"Black Narcissus" is the darkest and most cynical film of the pair, but it's also a beautiful film, and it's in this contradiction that they live up to their claim that through beauty, through colorful photography, Unparalleled painting and set design, as well as exaggerated expressive acting, they show us the deep core, the legacy of Powell and Pressberg not only ranks among the best British films, but also gives us a glimpse into history. Capsule, from which to explore a bygone era and society and policy. They show us beauty and expose naked truth through beauty.
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