Black Narcissus Film Review

‘There's something truly unearthly about this place of howling winds, yawning chasms and atmosphere thick with temptation. Sanctity, it will be proven, is no match for sin. -1 (Uhlich K)’  

 The  synopsis  of  this  iconic  film  regards  a  ancient  religious  order  that  have  decided  to  branch  their  aid  and  teachings  to  the  far  reaches  of  the  globe.  A  new  sister  supreme  is  appointed  to  over  watch  the  progression  of  the  new  institute  located  in  the  Himalayas.  Mopu  Palace  stands  9,000  feet  above  sea  level  and  is  the  set  for  the  entire  production.  Its  derelict  location  hints  how  alone  the  sisters  are  from  the  rest  of  the  world  surrounding  them,  a  sense  of  freedom  is  given  from  its  depiction  from  the  foreground  elements.      

Continuing  to  elaborate  upon  this  quote  we  should  reference  to  the  above  image  (Figure  One).    Located  high  above  the  village  below,  Mopu  Palace  is  a  sight  to  behold,  derived  from  an  outpost  above  the  valley  turned  into  a  religious  sanctuary.  Due  to  its  altitude  the  sound  would  of  course  include  the  high  gusts  curling  into  the  valley  and  emphasizing  the  sense  of  abnormal  space  given  from  this  establishing  shot.  To  the  audience  this  image  attempts  to  disorientate  our  interpretation  of  a  peaceful  sanctuary  and  instead  begins  to  explore  the  possibility  of  how  alone  and  desolate  it  could  be,  the  realism  behind  the  palace  that  it  is  miles  from  any  sort  of  civilization  and  the  kind  of  dangers  that  can  present.  

‘Powell's equally extravagant visual style transforms it into a landscape of the mind -- grand and terrible in its thorough abstraction. -2 (Kehr D)’  

Powell  the  director  implored  the  use  of  illusions  to  create  a  sense  of  ambiguity  in  his  piece,  indeed  the  production  includes  cinematography  that  looks  at  a  range  of  camera  shots/angles  but  to  depict  what  he  solely  desired  for  this  film  he  used  paintings  as  a  extension  to  his  filming  to  show  the  scale  of  the  palace  to  the  rest  of  the  surrounding  world.  Here  in  (Figure  Two)  we  observe  the  use  of  this  technique  for  ourselves  multiple  times,  Powell  continually  uses  this  shot  consistently  throughout  the  film  perhaps  to  illustrate  the  sheer  drop  and  the  sense  of  the  edge  of  the  world.    

From  the  complimenting  quote  from  Dave  Kehr  we  can  infer  the  use  of  abstraction  cinematography  to  visual  landscapes  are  being  implored  to  create  a  grand  view  of  the  exterior  of  Mopu  palace.  This  in  turn  plays  a  key  role  to  the  sanity  of  the  occupants  of  this  space  because  of  the  high  altitude  the  air  would  differ  to  what  they  are  used  to,  which  can  possibly  have  a  massive  impact  on  their  behavior  toward  the  order  and  to  each  other.  

 

                                                 

             

Sexual tension hangs in the air as the wind blows and native drums beat, but it's on a visual level that the film excels.-3 (Empire)  

Following  our  theme  of  the  steady  decrease  into  instability  of  the  mind,  we  should  now  dissect  character  biographies  to  determine  the  environments  aftereffects.  Pictured  left  (Figure  Three)  is  Sister  Ruth,  a  member  of  the  religious  order  and  a  teacher  for  the  young  children  who  attend  the  temporary  school  they  have  created.  In  the  prologue  of  the  film  we  already  know  that  Ruth’s  character  is  emotionally  unstable  and  is  thrown  into  this  strange  environment  on  purpose  by  the  order  to  test  her  limits  in  unsettling  surroundings.  Her  demise  is  steadily  shown  in  cinematography  and  her  makeup  plays  a  key  role  also.  Ruth’s  character  is  extremely  sexually  frustrated  and  begins  to  look  upon  the  male  characters  in  interest.  In  this  shot  specifically  we  can  sense  the  madness  within  with  Ruth  staring  blankly  through  her  eyebrows  with  explored  shadows  to  help  depict  her  rage  within.    

The  highlights  of  the  story  of  Black  Narcissus  can  be  from  a  range  of  key  moments  within  the  film,  but  most  prominent  is  the  slow  decay  of  Ruth’s  Character.  Below  (Figure  Four)  Is  the  true  horror  of  this  bleak,  unrequited  film,  where  the  sister  supreme  herself  is  flabbergasted  by  the  actions  of  her  fellow  sister.  This  is  the  still  taken  from  the  final  demise  of  sister  Ruth  and  we  can  see  even  the  main  character  is  truly  shocked  by  her  actions.  The  illusion  of  the  Mopu  Palace  also  cloaks  the  sense  of  instability  as  it  is  depicted  to  be  above  the  world  and  away  from  these  problems,  when  in  fact  we  cannot  escape  our  inner  demons.    

                                                       

List  of  Illustrations:  • Figure  One  -­‐    Mopu  Exterior,  Movie  Press  at  http://videokrypt.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/black-­‐

narcissus-­‐nuns-­‐in-­‐heat-­‐in-­‐glorious-­‐technicolour/    added  05/05/2012,  accessed  on  23/11/2013  • Figure  Two  –  Mopu  height,  Davis  Z  at  http://zendavis.com/?p=269  added  12/12/2012,  accessed  on  

23/11/2013  • Figure  Three  –  Sister  Ruth,    Nisimazine  at  http://www.nisimazine.eu/Black-­‐Narcissus.html  added  

21/03/2009,  accessed  on  23/11/2013  • Figure  Four  –  Sister  Supreme’s  horror,  Buckle  A  at  

http://thefilmemporium.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/monthly-­‐round-­‐up-­‐best-­‐films-­‐i-­‐saw-­‐in.html  added  31/10/2011,  accessed  on  23/11/2013  

 List  of  Biblography:  

• (1)  –  Uhlich  K  ,    Timeout  at  http://www.timeout.com/us/film/black-­‐narcissus-­‐3  added  31/12/2012,  accessed  on  23/11/2013  

• (2)  -­‐  Kehr  D,  Chicagoreader  at  http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/black-­‐narcissus/Film?oid=1069731  added  23/03/2010,  accessed  on  23/11/2013  

• (3)  –  Anon,  Empiremagazine  at  http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/ReviewComplete.asp?FID=11330  added  05/08/2005,  accessed  on  23/11/2013