I've been spacing these posts a little too far apart, and letting them pile up. So, I'm devoting a full week to new installments of my "Great Directors" series. Enjoy.
The filmography of British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, who dubbed themselves "The Archers," is full of films that I always recall as being fantasy films, even though they aren't. There's such a heightened, striking look to their work, especially in the post-war period, when budgets grew, and filmmakers were able to put some real spectacle and opulence onscreen again. Theater, opera, and ballet were integral parts of some of their films, but that sensibility carried over to many of the others.
Nowhere is this more apparent than with "Black Narcissus," about a group of nuns who have come to the Himalayas to convert and civilize the local populace. The missionary narrative was a popular one in the 1940s and 1950s, full of idealized notions of race relations and religious salvation. "Black Narcissus" is the total subversion, where we watch the new environment and culture throw the pious women into psychic turmoil, including the gradual undoing of one nun, the unstable Sister Ruth.
There is such a richness apparent in every frame of "Black Narcissus." Astonishingly, nearly everything was shot in-studio, making extensive use of models and matte paintings to create the stunning vistas and dizzying chasms. In this way, the Archers were able to control their lighting and use of color to a remarkable degree. And it's clear why they did it, because in this film the environment is everything. The nuns, in their stark white habits, are faced with a world full of sensual color and texture. Around their convent are steep cliffs and rugged terrain, representing the constant presence of danger. Whirlwinds regularly find their way inside, making the nuns' clothing flutter and swirl in disarray. There are some excellent performances here, especially from Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron as Sister Clodagh and Sister Ruth, but so much of the effectiveness of "Black Narcissus" comes from seeing their psychological struggle mirrored and amplified by their surroundings.
Powell would describe the film as one of his most erotic, full of people struggling against newly awakened desires. Far more was suggested than actually shown, of course, as stringent content restrictions prevented all but the most oblique suggestions of sinful behavior. Suggestions, however, were more than enough. Sister Clodagh, the leader of the convent, may be positioned as the lead character, but the iconic figure is Sister Ruth. The isolation of living in the Himalayas reawakens the destructive passions that drove her to become a nun in the first place, along with a roiling jealousy that soon turns to madness. The changes in her are signalled by costume and makeup changes, but also by how she's lit and shot. The dramatic close-ups and extreme close-ups of her eyes and lips are more provocative than anything Sister Ruth's actually does.
We can't overlook the film's Orientalism, including the deeply uncomfortable brownface performance of Jean Simmons as Kanchi, a troubled native girl. The film leans heavily on the depiction of Nepali and Indian peoples as mysterious and unknowable. They're often treated as extensions of the setting, especially a holy man who the nuns are unable to remove from their lands. However, the native inhabitants of the Himalayas are in harmony with the land in a way that the Westerners are not, and it's the nuns who have the uncomfortable status of outsiders. Some observers have posited the film could have anti-colonialist themes, or parallels with the waning days of British Imperialism.
The Archers' films were not especially popular or well-reviewed by contemporary critics, but "Black Narcissus" was one of the exceptions. The controversial subject matter, gorgeous visuals, and exotic locales made it something of a sensation with filmgoing audiences. The Catholic National Legion of Decency tried to ban it in the US, resulting in unfortunate cuts to the film, but nonetheless it won two Oscars - one for art direction, and one for cinematography. In recent years "Black Narcissus" has become the most famous and beloved of the Archers' films, having aged far better than most of the cinema of its era.
What I've Seen - Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
49th Parallel (1941)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
A Canterbury Tale (1944)
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Black Narcissus (1947)
The Red Shoes (1948)
The Small Back Room (1949)
The Elusive Pimpernel (1950)
Gone to Earth (1950)
The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
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