I have always been fascinated with stories of people in constricted situations who must contend with their impolite and boundary-pressing passions. It's why I like British dramas, or stories set in monasteries or in feudal Japan. The tight societal container intensifies the struggle with these ancient drives.
Black Narcissus is a 1947 film about Anglican nuns set up in a former seraglio in the Himalayan part of India, trying to live their very Western religious life and both teach and heal the native people. It is a somewhat operatic tale of many opposites, a study in feminine strength and feminine madness. Deborah Kerr stars.
A plot element was weirdly mirrored among the actors. Two nuns, played by Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron, are both attracted by the roguish and sexual British agent, played by David Farrar. It turns out that the director, Michael Powell, was having a relationship with Byron during the filming and was an ex-lover of Kerr's.
The Oscar-winning cinematography is stunningly beautiful --dramatic and disciplined, stark and rich by turns, perhaps as important as the plot-- and reminds me of the kind of over-the-top direction and costuming that you might find in serious silent films from Germany. It was shot almost entirely in the studio, making the visuals even more impressive.
It put me in mind of another film I saw years ago about conflict in a women's monastery. I tracked it down --thank you Netflix-- and am set to watch it. In This House of Brede, with the main character played by Diana Rigg. Turns out both stories are based on novels by 20th century novelist Rumer Godden.
She knows how to attract leading women!
PS. Well, House of Brede was a nice look into pre-Vatican II monastic life, but the tensions were almost entirely among females, and about the passions of motherhood...so I have to confess I was less intrigued.
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