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Black Narcissus
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Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 British psychological drama film written, directed, and produced jointly by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the 1939 novel Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden. It stars Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar, and Flora Robson, and features Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, and Kathleen Byron.
Set during the final years of British colonial rule in India, the film depicts the growing tensions within a small convent of Anglican nuns who have been invited to establish a school and hospital in the old harem of an Indian Raja at the top of an isolated mountain in the Himalayas. The nuns have trouble adapting to the harsh climate and antagonistic population. They come to rely on the help and advice of the Raja's British agent, a cynical Englishman whose attractiveness and panache become a source of temptation for the sisters.
Black Narcissus received acclaim for its technical mastery, with the cinematographer Jack Cardiff winning an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography, and Alfred Junge winning an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
According to film critic David Thomson, "Black Narcissus is that rare thing, an erotic English film about the fantasies of nuns, startling whenever Kathleen Byron is involved".
Convent of the Order of the Servants of Mary • Calcutta : General Toda Rai, the Rajput ruler of a princely state in the Himalayas, invites an order of Anglican nuns to establish a school and hospital at Mopu, a former harem situated on a high cliff. The ambitious Sister Clodagh is appointed Sister Superior and is sent to Mopu with four other nuns: Sister Philippa for gardening; Sister Briony for the infirmary; Sister Blanche, better known as "Sister Honey", to teach lace-making; and the emotionally unstable Sister Ruth to teach English and maths. All five women are in an unfamiliar, colonial setting.
Mr Dean, the general's British agent, is deeply sceptical of the project, citing a variety of social and environmental difficulties. He predicts the nuns will leave as soon as the monsoon season begins. It is critical for Clodagh to manage the nuns' well-being, since the Congregation allows every nun to resign at the end of the year.
The sisters struggle to adapt to the local population. The native caretaker, Angu Ayah, dislikes sharing the palace with the nuns. The general's wealthy uncle, now a Hindu holy man, spends all his time meditating on a mountain within the monastery grounds in complete silence. The sisters agree to mentor Kanchi, a local girl with a reputation for erratic behaviour, but Ayah whips her for stealing.
Each convent member starts to experience ill-health and/or emotional problems caused by their surroundings. Clodagh recalls a failed romance which prompted her to leave her home in Ireland and join the order. Ruth grows jealous of Clodagh. Philippa loses herself in the environment and plants the vegetable garden with flowers. Honey's attachment to the local children ends disastrously after she gives ineffective medication to a fatally ill baby. The nuns' failure to save the child's life angers the locals, who abandon the mission. Mr Dean encourages Clodagh to leave, but she insists on staying.
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Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus is a 1947 British psychological drama film written, directed, and produced jointly by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, based on the 1939 novel Black Narcissus by Rumer Godden. It stars Deborah Kerr, Sabu, David Farrar, and Flora Robson, and features Esmond Knight, Jean Simmons, and Kathleen Byron.
Set during the final years of British colonial rule in India, the film depicts the growing tensions within a small convent of Anglican nuns who have been invited to establish a school and hospital in the old harem of an Indian Raja at the top of an isolated mountain in the Himalayas. The nuns have trouble adapting to the harsh climate and antagonistic population. They come to rely on the help and advice of the Raja's British agent, a cynical Englishman whose attractiveness and panache become a source of temptation for the sisters.
Black Narcissus received acclaim for its technical mastery, with the cinematographer Jack Cardiff winning an Academy Award for Best Cinematography and a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography, and Alfred Junge winning an Academy Award for Best Art Direction.
According to film critic David Thomson, "Black Narcissus is that rare thing, an erotic English film about the fantasies of nuns, startling whenever Kathleen Byron is involved".
Convent of the Order of the Servants of Mary • Calcutta : General Toda Rai, the Rajput ruler of a princely state in the Himalayas, invites an order of Anglican nuns to establish a school and hospital at Mopu, a former harem situated on a high cliff. The ambitious Sister Clodagh is appointed Sister Superior and is sent to Mopu with four other nuns: Sister Philippa for gardening; Sister Briony for the infirmary; Sister Blanche, better known as "Sister Honey", to teach lace-making; and the emotionally unstable Sister Ruth to teach English and maths. All five women are in an unfamiliar, colonial setting.
Mr Dean, the general's British agent, is deeply sceptical of the project, citing a variety of social and environmental difficulties. He predicts the nuns will leave as soon as the monsoon season begins. It is critical for Clodagh to manage the nuns' well-being, since the Congregation allows every nun to resign at the end of the year.
The sisters struggle to adapt to the local population. The native caretaker, Angu Ayah, dislikes sharing the palace with the nuns. The general's wealthy uncle, now a Hindu holy man, spends all his time meditating on a mountain within the monastery grounds in complete silence. The sisters agree to mentor Kanchi, a local girl with a reputation for erratic behaviour, but Ayah whips her for stealing.
Each convent member starts to experience ill-health and/or emotional problems caused by their surroundings. Clodagh recalls a failed romance which prompted her to leave her home in Ireland and join the order. Ruth grows jealous of Clodagh. Philippa loses herself in the environment and plants the vegetable garden with flowers. Honey's attachment to the local children ends disastrously after she gives ineffective medication to a fatally ill baby. The nuns' failure to save the child's life angers the locals, who abandon the mission. Mr Dean encourages Clodagh to leave, but she insists on staying.