The Bite Magazine - Spring/Summer 2022 - Issue 31

bitefilmreview I n 1947, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger wrote, produced and directed the British psychological drama film Black Narcissus . It starred renowned actors Deb- orah Kerr, Kathleen Byron, Sabu Dastagir, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Esmond Knight, and Jean Simmons. The title refers to the Caron perfume Narcisse Noir for women, launched in 1911. Black Narcissus was released only a fewmonths before India achieved independence from Britain in August 1947. Film critic Dave Kehr suggested the final scene, which sees the nuns abandon the Him- alayas and proceed down the mountain, could have been interpreted by British viewers as “the last farewell to their fading empire”. He suggested for the filmmakers that it is not an image of defeat “but of a respectful, rational retreat from something that Eng- land never owned nor understood.” The film achieved considerable acclaim for its technical mastery, with cinematogra- pher Jack Cardiff winning an Academy Award in 1948 for Best Cinematography and a Golden Globe Award for Best Cinematography. According to film critic David Thom- son, “ Black Narcissus is that rare thing, an erotic English film about the fantasies of nuns, startling whenever Kathleen Byron is involved.” Based on the 1939 novel by Rumer Godden, the film revolves around the growing ten- sions of a small convent of Anglican nuns on a mission from the Order of The Servant. They were asked to establish a school and hospital in the old palace of an Indian Raja at the top of an isolated mountain above a valley in the Himalayas and invited by General Toda Rai, the Rajput ruler of a princely state in the Himalayas. The palace has ancient Indian erotic paintings on its walls. It is run by the owner Indi- an general’s agent, a handsome middle-aged Englishman who is a source of sexual at- traction for the nuns. During their time setting up the convent, the nuns face troubles with the old building and the local Hindu population. They take in a local girl called Kanchi to try to control her broken spirit. Ayah whips Kanchi for stealing, but the young general stops her and falls in love with Kanchi. Black Narcissus