Black Moon (1975)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Aditya G

  
  A lot of avant-garde filmmakers experimented with Lewis Carroll's classic novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Some features that come to mind are Jaromil Jires' wonderful film, "Valerie and her Week of Wonders", Guillermo Del Toro's… More
  A lot of avant-garde filmmakers experimented with Lewis Carroll's classic novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". Some features that come to mind are Jaromil Jires' wonderful film, "Valerie and her Week of Wonders", Guillermo Del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" and Jan Svankmajer's "Alice". Louis Malle's surrealist experimental film "Black Moon" could very well fit into this category of the directors' own interpretation of the novel giving it their own "free form"! Written by Louis Malle in collaboration with Joyce Bunuel (Luis Bunuel's daughter-in-law!) and directed by Louis Malle, "Black Moon" is devoid of any central plot as such. Set against a post-apocalyptic backdrop of a "war between the sexes", this film simply chronicles the weird happenings as experienced (or imagined?) by a teenage girl, Lily (Cathryn Harrison) who has narrowly escaped being killed by men seemingly out to wipe out the entire women populace! Having been lucky to have escaped, she just speeds away in her car deep into the woods only to come across an isolated property, a huge manor house and its strange inhabitants. The house is dwelled in by a cantankerous, bed ridden old lady (Therese Giehse) with a weird fetish, who talks to animals, especially a big rat-like creature "Humphrey" in some language that's gibberish, and every once in a while speaks on a radio kept by her bed. There is a brother-sister pair around the house to take care of stuff. They don't speak a single word. They only hum some songs as they work around the property. Some snakes tucked away in unlocked drawers also share the space with them! The most bizarre of all though, is the presence of about half a dozen naked children running around playing with a gigantic pig; they keep interrupting Lily's path every time she chases a not-so-graceful Unicorn that seems to be a regular visitor around the property..... [img]https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3qYp39B5EJ0/T5jJ3WsjKBI/AAAAAAAACc8/18ZIxJj2txE/s800/vlcsnap-2012-04-25-21h50m26s207.jpg[/img] Everything sounds very interesting for film lovers who love their films rife with surreal dreamscapes but frankly it doesn't go much beyond this. The film surely holds our interest for most of its modest running time of about 95 minutes thanks to the splendid camerawork by the genius cinematographer Sven Nykvist and the rather awe-inspiring sound design. In a fabulous close-up of a crawling centipede, you can actually "hear" the little thing crawl on a surface! In another hilarious scene (repeated twice), amidst near dead silence, a pig sitting at a table, apparently guarding a large glass of milk kept at the center of the table, lets out a loud grunt every time Lily gulps milk from it! These are just some of the really jaw-droppingly outlandish scenes in the film and there are a good number of them. There are some scenarios that are so absurd, they are comical and that's a good thing, but after a while the same devices are recycled instead of bringing in some novelty factor. Once one gives in to the idea of absurdist fiction, then there are no limits to what one can do! But surrealism not being Malle's forte, he leaves a little to be desired in his product. If a premise that automatically creates endless possibilities starts to get repetitive then there is a problem somewhere! Malle even tries to infuse some allegorical allusions to the Indian epic Ramayana (a particular episode involving "Jatayu", the demi-god possessing the form of a vulture, who tries to save Sita from Raavana's clutches!) but it doesn't necessarily create a huge impact in the overall proceedings. [img]https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-M5RHzZ6bmTQ/T5jJzR-GjwI/AAAAAAAACcs/VntOZIbCtio/s800/vlcsnap-2012-04-25-21h37m38s249.jpg[/img] This is an English language film and Cathryn Harrison, portraying Lily clearly speaks in English. However Therese Giehse's (Old Lady) speech sounds dubbed in English and her lip movement is ridiculously out of sync. It is unclear whether this was intentional or a technical glitch, a bad dubbing job or a bad lip-synching job! At times even Harrison's dialog seems out of sync. Some of it sounds really dumb as well! If one thinks from a certain angle, there certainly is an interpretation that gives the happenings on screen some meaning and a vaguely fitting explanation which could even reflect religious themes! I would not like to adhere to any theory or interpretation though. I think it is safe to assume that Louis Malle didn't want to make a deeply thought-provoking or metaphorical film. He merely wanted to compile some dream-like visions into a motion picture laced with themes of civil war and futuristic dystopia and a teenager's coming-of-age, and that's fair enough. He wanted his film to be more a visual experience than a cerebral puzzle. Only Luis Bunuel or David Lynch could've done a much better job with the material at hand. Score: 7.5/10. [img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1lTflFEmPKQ/T5jJy9wvzSI/AAAAAAAACco/_YEFEuKkb7I/s800/vlcsnap-2012-04-25-21h40m43s53.jpg[/img]

• Jan Marc M

  
  Black Moon is the theatrical realization of an apocalyptic dream conceived by Louis Malle featuring the most bizarre: a war, a senile woman, a bevy of naked children, and a unicorn. A surreal escape. Eccentric.

• Austen R

  
  A head trip movie about the women's movement of the '70's?? Well, if that sort of thing interests you; then this convoluted tale of a young woman gaining a sense of security and pride in being a woman in the harsh world of the '70's will not disappoint. It has… More
  A head trip movie about the women's movement of the '70's?? Well, if that sort of thing interests you; then this convoluted tale of a young woman gaining a sense of security and pride in being a woman in the harsh world of the '70's will not disappoint. It has an enormous amount of depth, incorporating fantastical imagery meant to communicate the repressment of women at the time; is very well acted and directed; and is gorgeous to look at. (The cute lead certainly doesn't hurt that!) The film is a bit bizarre, but that only allows the film to communicate the confusion felt by the main character, and it eventually helps the movie build tension until the battle of the sexes reaches its boiling point. The film isn't for everybody, but if you're one to peruse through the Criterion Collection, or attend screenings at your local indie theatre, then there's no reason not to enjoy this movie. (Unless you're sexist!!) Hell, the film might even inspire you to research the movement that inspired this movie! When all is said and done, I actually really enjoy this film. I've re-watched it twice, and I still find it to be a sincere and relevant social commentary. This one gets a 95% from me!

• Greg S

  
  A young woman flees a shooting war between the sexes and holes up at a farmhouse with a bedridden old woman, a brother and sister both named "Lily," a bunch of naked children, and a unicorn. Pure surrealism is hard to pull off at feature length (even Bunuel and Lynch rarely… More
  A young woman flees a shooting war between the sexes and holes up at a farmhouse with a bedridden old woman, a brother and sister both named "Lily," a bunch of naked children, and a unicorn. Pure surrealism is hard to pull off at feature length (even Bunuel and Lynch rarely attempted it). Louis Malle proves not to be up to the challenge, either, though there are some good individual moments (who wouldn't love the unicorn)?

• Walter M

  
  "Black Moon" starts out with a porcupine minding its business in the middle of the road when it is run over by a young woman speeding along in a car. A war is going on. Even though we're never exactly told what it's for, it's a good guess that it might be a… More
  "Black Moon" starts out with a porcupine minding its business in the middle of the road when it is run over by a young woman speeding along in a car. A war is going on. Even though we're never exactly told what it's for, it's a good guess that it might be a war between the genders. She barely escapes a roadblock, comes across another group of soldiers and then stumbles through the woods. And that is when the unicorn appears... "Black Moon" is a rather unique film, with a debt being owed to Lewis Carroll. And any sort of goodwill created by the unique setting is generally undone by a good deal of incoherence.(There is very little dialogue in this film. In fact, there is not any until about half hour into the film.) We don't have to have everything spelled out for us but we must have half a clue as to what is going on. Or, what the rules of the new reality are, if it is a new one, at all. (Originally reviewed in the blog section on July 10, 2005.)

• Chris B

  
  Louis Malle's most abstract and interpretive work is one that while not understood at the time, wait until you see the film, has garnered attention more recently. Going in to this film you have to turn off that notion of following a direct plot line and logic because the film is… More
  Louis Malle's most abstract and interpretive work is one that while not understood at the time, wait until you see the film, has garnered attention more recently. Going in to this film you have to turn off that notion of following a direct plot line and logic because the film is most simply an experience. Malle says, as noted in the booklet accompanying the Criterion edition " Each time something appeared that looked like a plotline, I would cross it out." This direction means that you are watching not so much a normal paced film but a series of events that the mind can interpret in a variety of ways, quite diversely I may add as the film is filled to the brim with symbolism. All this being said the film is wonderfully shot and handled with dedication and respect and is no doubt a Malle work. The supplementary features which are unfortunately quite short for a Criterion especially, add great insight into the film. Malle says that it is absurd to ask a director the meaning behind the piece and that cinema is the worst when it comes to the scrutiny people force upon the creators. He basically leaves it to the viewer to decide what it means for them, and that is perfectly stated and true. I can't recommend this for most, but if you are like me and appreciate the obscure and abstract it is one worth watching!

• Ed Fucking H

  
  I'm a little surprised that more people aren't aware of this surrealist film of the mid 70's, but since it's been released by Criterion recently I think that is going to start to change in the near future. It follows the travels of a girl in a post apocalyptic… More
  I'm a little surprised that more people aren't aware of this surrealist film of the mid 70's, but since it's been released by Criterion recently I think that is going to start to change in the near future. It follows the travels of a girl in a post apocalyptic 'war of the sexes' type scenario. She finds refuge at an old house and this is where the weirdness begins. She encounters naked children chasing after a pig, a bed ridden mother who is breast fed by her daughter, a son who is mute except when hes singing opera, and a talking unicorn. The film intresting, bizarre and original for sure. Not as engaging or entertaining as you might hope but worth seeing as it is unlike anything else you are likely to see anytime soon.

• Doctor S

  
  'Black Moon' Eclipses All Things Bizarre Before I begin this review, I'm going to mention one film I saw 40 minutes of last night: Black Moon. I'll simply describe it with the thought that kept going through my mind during the actual experience: "This stuff… More
  'Black Moon' Eclipses All Things Bizarre Before I begin this review, I'm going to mention one film I saw 40 minutes of last night: Black Moon. I'll simply describe it with the thought that kept going through my mind during the actual experience: "This stuff is f***ed up!" How would YOU process a film with the following elements? When I tuned in a girl comes upon a manor and encounters, in order of appearance: a mute 20-something male who communicates through touch 10+ completely naked children running through the backyard chasing an enormous pig mute male's 20-something mute sister breastfeeding their bedridden mother mother mumbles incoherently and talks into a shortwave radio an old, grey, obese talking unicorn mute 20-something male singing opera while trimming the trees (can't talk but can sing?) a bloodied, dead soldier who they bury in the backyard flowers that wail in pain when stepped on a talking rat named Humphery a nighttime piano & opera performance of Wagner with the naked children Who knows what went on during the other hour! I would've kept watching this bizarrefest because I sometimes enjoy the weird and inexplicable, however it had reached 2 AM and the fact is the film lacked the proper atmosphere and pace to succeed as a surrealist piece. There was no discernable story, instead the girl (much like Alice in Wonderland) walked from one strange situation to another, but unlike Alice without any sense of purpose or drama so the random weirdness became tedious instead of mesmerizing. I read afterwards online (Maltin's book of 17,000 films doesn't even list it!) this was directed by Louis Malle in 1975 and never released in any format in America. I also learned that before the opening credits even run, there is a disclaimer of sorts that reads: "This film does not address your sense of logic. It describes another world for you, at the same time familiar and different. Like your dreams. Come inside, with your emotions, with your senses. Let yourself be carried away, it's a journey I'm offering you." Nice try Louis.

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