Black Narcissus

Saw Black Narcissus, a '40s film about nuns trying to establish a convent in an old palace in India. There is a heavy dose of the mystical orient here, but done in a low-key kind of way. There's no actual magic, just talk of clear air and heat and 'this place' and so on. There's also a good dose of outdated imperialism as well. At one point the people are compared to children (as usual. Eyes cannot roll hard enough.)

The convent is located in a palace called 'the palace of women,' where harems of women used to be kept. The irony of the nuns praying while overlooked by frescoes of smiling, large-breasted women is inescapable. Indeed in its restrained, important-film, 1940s way the film throbs with barely suppressed female sexuality. There is a young girl who is sent to the convent to cure her wonton ways. The only other English person nearby is Dean, the hot (well, hot by 40s standards anyway) assistant to the general whose palace this is. He's always hanging around and being infuriating and attractive and generally stirring the pot. Eventually one sister, sister Ruth, falls in horrible love with him, although he clearly favors the mother superior. Ruth confronts the mother superior in a jealous rage, baring her teeth in a rat-like grimace. The mother superior sends her away after a tense argument and the scene fades into a jarring shot of bright, red flowers (oh, Georgia O'Keeffe! Oh!) Much drama is mined from the interplay of the characters' restrained faith and their weak flesh.

Eventually things come to a head during a sunset, as the mother superior walks and talks with Dean while Ruth listens from behind a screen, barely containing her fury. This scene is set just at sunset and the light is beautiful and golden. It may be the most beautiful scene in the whole movie. Shortly after, there is a tense showdown which is also quite beautiful, though in a more sinister way. The ending is almost Herzogian, in its long shots of untamed nature. An interesting film. At first restrained, but becomes wilder and wilder as it progresses, unto a very nice crescendo. Nothing breathtaking, but surprisingly effective.