What is the plot?

A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Superior Clodagh, are sent to Mopu Palace, high in the Himalayas, to establish a school and convent that they will call Santa Fe. General Toda Rai has given them permission to use the palace, which has a lot of history, the general's father used it as the place where all the women of his harem were and later it was inhabited by his younger sister, who committed suicide by throwing herself off the cliff. The nuns had to face the climate of the area, the customs and the culture of the inhabitants. The five nuns will be affected, but Sister Clodagh and Sister Ruth, will be the most affected by the presence of Mr. Dean, a man who works for the general taking care of the land and in the tea factory, provoking the carnal desire to be present in the mind of these two nuns. In addition, Sister Ruth seems to be losing her mind, having visions of the General's sister who has committed suicide, Srimati Rai, which will have devastating consequences for the mission.

The mini-series is a new adaptation of Rumer Godden's (Margaret Rumer Godden) successful novel, Black Narcissus, published in 1939. The book was written during the writer's time in Calcutta and when it was published, it became a success, a best seller. She had a prolific career as a writer, several of her works were adapted to film, such as Take Three Tenses, The River and The Battle of the Villa Fiorita. Of course, Narciso Negro, her biggest success, also had a film adaptation

The British film Black Narcissus was released in 1947 and was directed and produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger (both wrote the adaptation of the novel). Deborah Kerr starred as Sister Clodagh and Kathleen Byron as Sister Ruth. The film is a classic in the history of cinema, being a film with an erotic charge that called the attention for the time, for being the characters nuns tempted by the worldly fantasies.

The film was praised by the critics, especially for the photographic work of the 2 Oscars: Best color photography and best color art direction. It was awarded 2 Oscars: Best color photography and best color art direction and the Golden Globes: Best photography. Actress Deborah Kerr received the award for Best Actress from the New York Critics Circle. It is one of the favorite films of filmmaker Martin Scorsese, who considers it one of the most beautiful in history. In the United States it was rejected by Catholic religious groups, who considered it an affront to religion.

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The mini-series, although it is a new adaptation of the novel, it is difficult not to fall into comparisons with the movie, because the film is a classic that was a resounding success. When watching the three episodes of the mini-series, it is difficult not to feel the influence of the film, especially in the visual aspect.

The main problem with the mini-series is that it brings absolutely nothing new to the story, instead of taking advantage of these modern times, and offering a deeper and more provocative vision, I found myself with a lot of scenes that convey nothing.

The scenes with Srimati Rai's ghostly apparitions, at no point do they manage to be disturbing or cause fear. If the intention was to create a palace atmosphere haunted by a curse, they definitely don't. They don't cause fear, they're not terrifying, they're not anything.

Sister Ruth's madness is very precipitate, it's those visions of Srimati and what happened in the palace that end up driving her crazy, or it's the attraction she feels for Mr. Dean, all that sexual desire repressed by her religious beliefs. I would have liked a better approach on this point.

The fashbaks of Sister Clodagh's past, where in her youth she was very much in love with a boy, with whom she had relations before getting married, which is why she later decided to become a nun, introduce us better to the psychology of this character, to understand him better and because Mr. Dean's presence begins to make her relive those moments inside her head, with the temptation of the flesh, to go against the sacred vows.

The beautiful part of this mini-series is that unconsummated love story between Sister Clodagh and Mr. Dean. Impossible loves, especially this one, separated and prevented by religious conviction, is the most valuable part of this version, because it is sad how those two characters renounce to be happy, but at the same time it is a beautiful act.

The mini-series can be seen, but since the film exists, and without bringing anything new or more risky, it ends up being an unnecessary production. It is not possible that a film from the year 47, has sequences with more erotic tones than this adaptation of the same work in this XXI century.

The beautiful Gemma Arterton plays Sister Clodagh, that proud nun who wants to show that she is capable of carrying out the mission at the Mopu Palace, but that exotic landscape, the problems with Sister Ruth and the presence of Dean, will make everything she believes tremble. The actress does a good job, giving her personal touch to the character. Gemma is a kind girl and has been in many fantasy movies lately, but she looks good in dramatic roles, as she showed in the movie Vita & Virginia. I have nothing to criticize her, her sister Clodagh was credible enough for me.

The young Italian actress Aisling Franciosi plays sister Ruth, the nun, who looks a lot like Clodagh in terms of pride and ambition, and who ended up going crazy and obsessed with Dean. I don't want to make comparisons with the actress in the film, because that would be unfair. I think Aisling Franciosi is doing the best job she can to convey that Sister Ruth madness. She's an actress I remember from the series The Downfall, where she plays the girl who falls in love with the serial killer. She also appeared in the series "Legends" and for those who don't recognize her, she had a small role in "Game of Thrones", playing Lyanna Stark.

Alessandro Nivola is the actor who plays Mr. Dean, the man who works for the general and who takes care of the palace and his lands. He will be the temptation that will drive the nuns crazy. The actor has a long career, has acted in many movies, always in supporting roles and his name is not well known, he is married to the actress Emily Mortimer.

The rest of the cast consists of Rosie Cavaliero as Sister Briony, Patsy Ferran as Sister Blanche, Karen Bryson as Sister Philippa, Gina McKee as Sister Adela, Nila Aalia as Angu Ayah, who took care of the palace and met the General's sister when she committed suicide. Gianni Gonsalves is Srimati Rai, the young woman who threw herself off the cliff and whose spirit seems to haunt the palace. Chaneil Kular is Dilip Rai, the son of Srimati Rai, who is now a man and wants to take English classes with the nuns. There is a special performance by the great actor Jim Broadbent playing Father Roberts, leader of the religious mission in India and the late actress Diana Rigg as Mother Superior Dorothea.

The film is directed by Charlotte Bruus Christensen, who has a successful career as a director of photography. Her most notable works are the photography for the film "The Hunt", "Fences", "A Quiet Place" and "The Girl on the Train". She has won awards for her work, such as the Vulcain and Bodil awards. This mini-series is her first work as a director and it is clear that she focused more on the visual section than on bringing more drama and audacity to the story. The adaptation was done by the English scriptwriter and novelist Amanda Coe.

Trailer

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