An order of five nuns are given orders to repurpose an old concubine palace and establish a convent high in the mountains of the Himalayas. The sisters of the order soon find troubles as the oppressively isolated atmosphere of the convent takes its toll on them.The film takes on a unique atmosphere of constricting loneliness through various methods; the mountain-top convent is given an ethereal, other-worldly effect to it, which is emphasised through the use of painterly backdrops, this fairytale-esque escapism soon gives way to the distinct horror-movie feel that slowly seeps in as the runtime ticks by, and the central theme of repressed desires and their tendency to resurface produces a pervasive sense of unease that only gains momentum as the movie progresses.This uneasy atmosphere lends itself well to the plot, which centres on the character Sister Clodagh, however, there are some confusing turns that the story takes as well as some unresolved or nonsensical plot points. For a movie with such a tight set of characters, it seems odd that there is still some fat to be trimmed in this area, entire characters and their subplots serve no purpose other than to be used as awkwardly placed plot devices to further the story in an attempt to emphasise the themes of the film. It is not successfully done and the movie suffers for its rather lazy plot that is largely held afloat by the performances of the cast.Black Narcissus' unique tone, underscored with a bubbling atmosphere of repressed emotions makes for a tense viewing, and while the occasional lazy shortcut taken by the plot is an annoying distraction, this eerie ambiance and the compelling performances of the cast result in very good final piece.

This is a spellbinding movie that has haunted me for years. No other film in my sixty- odd years of viewing has so affected me. There is, beyond the obvious tangibles of superb artistry, an intangible quality that continues to elude me. Maybe it's that last scene of departure - the man framed against the mountain, the raindrops evanescing from the leaves, the procession passing into the mist. I know something has passed, yet something remains. But what? I know now that the movie is to be experienced, not decoded, a case where the figurative whole becomes a sum greater than any of its truly astonishing parts. The result projects that rarest of film qualities—an aesthetic that transcends artistry. Someone once observed that strange things happen when the practical mind of the English encounters traditional mysticism of the East. Strange and sometimes wonderful things, it should be added.

'Black Narcissus' was my first foray into the illustrious filmography of the legendary British filmmaking duo Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The screenplay written by them is based on a novel of the same name written by Rumer Godden. The film is about a group of nuns who are sent to start a Christian convent in the beautifully exotic Himalayas.First I will comment about what I loved in the film. Without a doubt, the film looks absolutely gorgeous. The colours on the screen are visually vibrant and also thematically expressive. There are certain shots like Sister Ruth looking down the cliff while ringing the bell in the convent or the sequence of Kanchi dancing in the huge hall room which will stay with me forever. I had always heard that Powell and Pressburger made visually captivating films with the help of the Oscar winning cinematographer Jack Cardiff and watching this film just confirms those claims in my mind. Although the film has a very theatrical and operatic tone to it, Powell and Pressburger used a lot of subtle touches in their storytelling to accentuate some of the themes that are being explored. I also loved Deborah Kerr as the sister superior Sister Clodagh. I think a big theme being dealt with in the film is false pride. The convent and its nuns think that they will be able to control their new surroundings and the natives. This is expressed in a subtle way when Sister Clodagh orders the removal of a picture on the wall of a room in the palace which portrayed people having fun and being mischievous. To some extent this pride aspect can be seen to be a bit of a commentary on the philosophies of the Imperial British empire. Although they go to the Himalayas and strive to help the natives and educate them, their latent racist opinions and condescending demeanor is very noticeable. The natives are given the tag 'unreasonable children'. This pride also gets established in the fact that the convent itself is located at a very high altitude towering above the homes of the natives. Dean and the Holy Man are two important characters. Dean is someone who lives a carefree life without obeying any customs or rituals, while the Holy Man has completely given himself up to nature and 'God' and has distanced himself from everything earthly. Sister Clodagh actually gets irritated by both these mentioned characters and actually says that the sisters shouldn't allow themselves to become like either one of them. But in the end we see that not only do the sisters confront failure in trying to assert themselves in this new environment,instead it is the environment that gets the better of them and forces them to face their genuine desires, the ghosts of their past and their inner struggles.Now, I will shift to the aspects that didn't work for me. Firstly it is constantly spelled out by the characters in the film that this new environment is changing them, but I didn't get why. Never did I ever see why this new environment was having an adverse effect on the psyche of the sisters. Sister Philippa is a character that we are supposed to sympathise with, but it was a character that remained extremely underdeveloped in my opinion. Another thing that really didn't work for me was the acting by the actors playing the native characters. We see them using this stereotypical 'Indian accent' that Westerners associate Indians with and it gets a bit annoying after a while and the acting by these actors also gets very amateurish at times.So 'Black Narcissus' is a film that has a number of great aspects, but it unfortunately failed to bowl me over as a whole. I was greatly impressed by the visuals and certain aspects of the direction. But I also thought certain characters and themes remained underdeveloped and the acting from the actors playing the native characters became almost insufferably bad at times. Not the best way to start my exploration of Powell and Pressburger's work, but there are certain aspects of this film which irrespective of the negatives make me interested in further exploring them as filmmakers.

After opening a convent in the Himalayas, five nuns encounter conflict and tension - both with the natives and also within their own group - as they attempt to adapt to their remote, exotic surroundings.This film has absolutely amazing color, and has gone on to be known as the film that best demonstrated how Technicolor should be used. I would agree completely with this assessment. I had no idea that color could look so good in the 1940s, and in many ways it looks better than it does today.The film's themes are also good. Some have said it is about "nuns and lust", but not in the sense that was made popular in the 1970s. That is certainly true, but many other themes exist -- not the least of which is the British influence on India, not long before their independence.