A Retrospective Review
By Cesare Augusto Directed by: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Starring: Sister Clodagh - DEBORAH KERR Mr. Dean – DAVID FARRAR Sister Ruth – KATHLEEN BYRON Sister Philippa – FLORA ROBSON Sister Honey – JENNY LAIRD Sister Briony – JUDITH FURSE The Young General - SABU Hypnotic. Mesmerizing. Spellbinding. These adjectives wouldn’t even begin to describe the vintage masterpiece that is Black Narcissus. And who would have thought that a drama about nuns could boast such descriptions? Directed by the visionary tag-team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, shot with Jack Cardiff’s majestic cinematography, and starring an international cast of brilliant classical actors, Black Narcissus is a beautiful and startling cinematic assault on the senses. If I had to use just one word to sum up this piece of psychological melodrama, it would be “haunting.” Screen legend Deborah Kerr (1921 – 2007) stars as Sister Clodagh, a young Anglican nun newly promoted to the status of Sister Superior. Clodagh is granted the heavy responsibility of setting up and overseeing a school and hospital high in the Himalayan mountains. It just so happens that the place where the nuns will set up shop was once a palatial harem owned by an Indian general. In a scene that somewhat reminds me of a ragtag special forces thriller, Clodagh handpicks a small team of nuns known for individual specialities and personality traits to aid in her responsibilities: Sister Briony for her medical skills; sweet Sister Blanche, so nicknamed “Sister Honey” for her love of children; gardening enthusiast Sister Philippa; and Sister Ruth, an easily distressed nun appointed for educational duties. Not since Sister Act have I seen a more mismatched gaggle of nuns! The nuns band together in the hopes of educating the local native Hindu population of the area using their spiritual word. Complications inevitably slam the Sisters like an angry monsoon. Their new location is a dilapidated former den of inequity in constant state of physical disarray. Treacherous weather of snow, ice, and hard winds threaten to topple them over the mountain ridges. The convent’s caretaker is a cantankerous old crone who constantly clashes with the nuns. And the local denizens of the populace hit the sisters with conflicts they were not prepared to contend with. One such denizen is a young dapper general (Sabu) who seeks to enlighten himself with the teachings of Christ and of Western culture, only to find himself falling for a beautiful if neurotic young native girl who frequents the convent. Each situation tests the strengths and sanity of Sister Clodagh and her nuns as they attempt to adapt in their new unsettling environment. But all of these obstacles are mere picnics compared to the presence of Mr. Dean (David Farrar). An agent of the former General who once owned the harem, Dean struts in like a muscular peacock with chest hair. He insists he can help the sisters with his strength, repair skills, and the rough physical terrain all around them. On the surface, Dean seems benevolent and helpful. But he’s also an irresistibly imposing force who catches the nuns’ attention, and he damn well knows it. Despite Dean’s corrupting influence, Clodagh does her best to execute her duties while desperately maintaining order among the local populace and fellow sisters. Her personal life is unearthed through flashbacks of her youth in Ireland, and how her dreams of winning her one true love are dashed by the fates, all of which led to her decision of becoming a nun, and ultimately the reason behind her authority ambitions. This is prime Deborah Kerr, the strong-willed but well-meaning and sensitive woman who employs a firm hand at control, yet retains a moral decency towards the people she was charged to look after. We come to identify what makes Sister Clodagh tick, and that’s her unwavering desire to see of her responsibilities and duties through to the end using a tough but tender approach. She proves it by resisting Mr. Dean’s Tarzan-like machismo and insisting that her nuns follow suit. Kerr would later utilize a similar approach in the classic 1961 Gothic ghost picture The Innocents, where her determined governess Miss Giddens will move heaven and hell to protect the eponymous young children from malevolent ghosts, with disastrous results. In strong behavorial contrast against the noble Clodagh is the increasingly-disturbed Sister Ruth, played with unhinged intensity by Kathleen Byron. The loose cannon among the nuns, Ruth seemed unwell way before they commenced their Himalayan mission; why Clodagh picked her in the first place is anyone’s guess. Eventually, the deteriorating conditions of their mountain base, the growing internal strife deep within the convent, and of course, the pompous Mr. Dean, all push Ruth further off the deep end. She becomes infatuated with Dean, which quickly mutates into obsession. It’s with this obsession that Ruth also develops an ugly rivalry against Clodagh. Their adversarial dynamic is one of the film’s greatest assets. It is not your standard contest of good versus evil, but of sanity against insanity within a hostile natural environment. Their conflict escalates a 100 fold when Ruth incorrectly accuses Clodagh of ruining her chances at winning Dean’s heart, which, of course, isn’t true since the Sister Superior despises the roguish agent. Nevertheless, Ruth will stop at nothing to get what she wants. How Kathleen Byron depicts Ruth’s mental plunge is supremely frightening. As the film progresses, Byron transforms her character from insecure neurotic to violent maniac. In a scene that I could best describe as beautifully nightmarish, the camera makes a close-up to Ruth’s face as she stalks Clodagh around the mountain in an attempt to silence the Sister Superior once and for all. The insane look in Ruth’s eyes is one of THE scariest scenes in any non-Horror film I’ve seen. Ever wonder what would chill me down to my core worse than Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees? Catch a glimpse into the face of Sister Ruth, and you’ll understand, I would be remiss in my responsibilities as an obscure film analyst to neglect mentioning the film’s effective cinematography work created by Mr. Jack Cardiff. It isn’t often that someone like Cardiff would be mentioned in other, more well-known filmmaker circles along the likes of, say, Spielberg, Hitchcock, or Kurosawa. Film aficionados should be familiar with Cardiff’s cinematographic contributions in classics like The African Queen and War and Peace; he would also go on to his own directorial duties such as the 1959 thriller Web of Desire and the 1968 mercenary adventure Dark of the Sun (a huge cinematic favorite of mine; see my previous review for DOTS on this blog). Cardiff’s magic is purely evident in this picture. He captures the emotions of each major character through the expert use of the close-up. Remember when I mentioned Sister Ruth’s crazy eyes? That was Cardiff’s amazing signature camera skills used to the hilt. Coupled with directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s gorgeous use of Technicolor to colorfully portray the remote Indian terrain, the filmmakers created a picture which resembles a painting crossed with a fever dream: a product of beauty with incredible dashes of madness. For all newcomers to the film who possibly would reject it as a “church drama,” a la Lillies of the Field or Boys Town, you’ll be pleasantly surprised to find that it isn’t. Despite its overlying Christian themes, Black Narcissus is nothing of the sort. While the film does show nuns who suffer crises of faith, it does not not promote a pro-religion stance either. Rather, we witness religious community members yearn for things they know they cannot obtain through the grace of God. While Sister Clodagh and a few of her fellow nuns are indeed faithful, they come to terms that miracles don’t always happen when it comes to achieving certain desires, like love, or physical survival. Yet, even if the characters don’t receive their personal miracles, such a great film in existence for us to watch is miraculous in of itself. See the original trailer here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZRzcLK1Ar0
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About Yours Truly
Unearthing great forgotten and criminally underrated pop culture mediums is my specialty! Whether the topic be about cinema, television, music, or other fun bits of obscure minutiae, I love analyzing and unleashing these lost treasures to the unwitting public! Archives
October 2020
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