The young nun went to the mirror, took off her white robe, and pulled down the cross on her chest with all her might.
She picked up the jewelry necklace and dressed it up elaborately.
At the end, I put on bright lipstick again.
Isn't that a taboo as a nun –
Black Narcissus
Black Narcissus
Based on Rumer Godden's classic novel.
In fact, as early as the 1940s, two directors, Michael Powell and Emerick Presberg, brought the story to the big screen.
With its stunning composition, "Black Narcissus" won the 20th Oscar and the 5th Golden Globe for Best Cinematography.
Not only that, but it was also praised as one of the "100 best British films of all time".
The drama version of "Black Narcissus" has only three episodes.
Director Charlotte Bruce Christensen, a cinematographer by birth, is best known as the 12-year-old "The Hunt" and "A Quiet Place"
And when it comes to the creators, it must be said that Diana Rigg, the Queen of Thorns in "Game of Thrones", passed away on September 10 this year.
Although the location of the film version is set in India, the master photographer Jack Cardiff uses his ingenious technique to make the mountains and rivers in the film all the products of the studio.
It is said that after the release, it also caused the outbreak of the Indian independence movement.
The location of the drama version was changed to Nepal, and the theme was still "Sexual Repression, Forbidden Love, Religious Belief".
In this way, the main idea conveyed by the story begins to emerge.
First, under different religious beliefs, a conflict between eastern and western cultural elements has emerged.
The film version of "Black Narcissus", due to its age, is still full of stereotypes of Asian faces and interspersed with colonial obscenities.
On a mountain of 8,000 feet above sea level in northern India, there is a Nap Monastery.
Several young nuns were transferred here in an attempt to save the ignorant and ignorant.
They conducted classes, taught children different languages, and joined others in cleaning up abandoned monasteries.
However, they soon discovered that the people living here did not seem to need to be saved.
Because the less they know about the outside world, the less they need.
Coupled with the environment of the human spirit, they are the more natural kind.
Instead, a few nuns, this trip to practice into a paradise, the imprisoned soul began to release...
The second is the strong opposition of black and white, two extreme human natures.
The Asian faces in the film version of "Black Narcissus", especially the Indian young marshal who stirred up a pool of spring water, represent the imaginary East:
Naked, indulgent, chaotic, backward.
In the West, nuns and whiteness speak for themselves: purity, restraint, abstinence.
Because to become a nun, you must make three wishes in yourself, that is, "absolute wealth", "absolute beauty" and "absolute will".
This is equivalent to the ancients becoming a monk, who needs to see through the red dust and cut off the love thread.
So here's the problem.
To a certain extent, the role of nuns and monks is to persuade people to "put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha on the ground" and "the sea of suffering is endless, and the return is the shore."
When people in a place are pure enough to have no sin to be inspired, is it still useful to insist on the belief of "no desire and no desire"?
The drama version of "Black Narcissus" gives a better answer.
It eliminates the facialized oriental characters and no longer makes the so-called low-level mistakes.
The framing is also more magnificent, which not only satisfies the curiosity of Westerners for the wonders of the East, but also conforms to the reality that the Eastern world should have.
As the introduction says:
This film shows the indisputable fact that human nature can be changed under the influence of the environment, and when human nature is fragile, it cannot resist the pressure brought by the environment and resist the self-control of the influence of the external environment.
In the area called Mokpo, the local general decided to donate the palace under his name.
But the additional condition was that the nuns be required to get up immediately and go to Mokpo.
Sister Croda is confident in her abilities and wants to be the leader of this time to educate and inspire the people of the Mokpo area.
Counting her, a total of five nuns set out for Mokpo.
One of them, Sister Ruth, is intelligent and talented.
However, she is not ambitious and has always wanted to have an important position.
The day after arriving at the palace, Croda met with the general's agent, Monsieur Dean.
At first, the two didn't deal with each other, and Dean thought the nuns wouldn't be here for long.
After all, the last group was the German Order, who came to the palace to try to start a school, but gave up halfway through.
Croda, on the other hand, thinks Dean is arrogant and arrogant, and looks down on him.
But over time, it brought out the importance of Dean.
The nuns spent the day cleaning and planting fruits and vegetables in the open space, trying to make the palace look as new as possible.
But some of the work of repairing the building still requires Dean's help.
Day after day, in the process of discussing with Dean, a subtle emotion took root in Croda's heart.
On the other side, the demons haunted the nuns.
One of the nuns who quit first thought the circumstances had made her forget the purpose of her trip.
She also said in a word:
The air here is too fresh and can be seen too far, as if the mountains were watching us, not God.
Beautiful scenery can make ordinary people happy and relaxed, but for practitioners, it is a disturbing existence of the mind.
Once the nuns enjoyed the view, they wanted to touch something other than the view.
The impact on Sister Ruth in particular was even more severe.
Ruth hates children and becomes grumpy when she teaches.
She looked at the remaining fragrant patterns on the walls, and in her trance she could always see the dead Nepalese Srimati princess in front of the mirror.
The two women who live in Mokpo are also harshly reprimanded by Ruth.
When Croda weakened her power, she believed that Croda had done so out of jealousy.
In particular, Ruth witnessed the flame of love between Croda and Dean, and was even more enraged.
Oops, the ancient curse handed down from the palace, is going to be staged again.
The rare thing about the film version of "Black Narcissus" is that in the last century, it dared to gaze at the only white man from a female perspective, and the key is that this man is still wearing three-point pants.
In the drama version, the concept is more up-to-date.
During a conversation, Croda questions Dean:
We have been taught that only men have desires, and I am your vessel for satisfying desires, but what about our own desires?
This is not right.
In the end, Ruth goes into a rage and tries to kill Croda, but she is buried in the abyss.
Croda and his party, as Dean had said, did not last long.
Before leaving, Croda and Dean had a conversation.
CRODA: I don't know where I'm going, but I'm going to do God's will.
Dean; what if God wants you to stay.
Croda: Maybe not this life.
Dean: Then the next life, the better next life.
From the initial dodge "I can't shake your hand" to reaching out to tell Dean her real name.
Croda tried to break through the line of defense that had long held him back.
She dared to look directly at her desires, but she would not take any more steps forward.
As the wise men say, only the saints and laymen can survive.
Living in nature, there is only self-cultivation or going with the flow.
No matter which role you choose to become, you will have to give up some things.
It is simple to be a layman, but it is difficult to become a saint.
Indulgence is simple, restraint is hard.
Perhaps the next life that Croda desires can strike a delicate balance between the saints and the laymen.