Deborah Kerr's faith is tested in 'Black Narcissus.'

Black Narcissus screens at 7pm Tue in Rm 184 of the Performing Arts Bldg, west of Welch & W Chestnut Sts, Denton. Admission is free. Call 940-565-3509.

This is a story about Michael Powell. No, we're not talking about the former music editor at this newspaper. This Powell was considered the greatest English film director of his time, and his reputation has only grown since his death. Between 1931 and 1960, he built up an astonishing and wide-ranging body of work, from his resplendent ballet film The Red Shoes to his odd romantic comedy I Know Where I'm Going to his affectionate military satire The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp to his serial killer film Peeping Tom, one of the most disturbing movies ever made. (The latter film was denounced on the floor of Parliament, and the controversy effectively killed his career.)

His 1947 film Black Narcissus is an adaptation of a Rumer Godden novel about a group of Anglican nuns who try to turn a former bordello in the Himalayas into a hospital and religious school. The isolation and inhospitable environment take their toll on the nuns, as does sexual temptation -- the man who acts as their liaison to the local ruler is a very manly Englishman who parades around in very short shorts. Powell shot the film in a studio because he didn't want an exotic location to overwhelm the story, but his movie's still a powerfully intoxicating visual feast. Outrageously saturated colors erupt onto the screen, capturing the emotional turmoil and madness that gradually overtakes the nuns. Deborah Kerr and the rest of the cast add to the atmosphere with operatic performances, and the movie's end -- a lethal and metaphorically loaded climactic struggle on a parapet, followed by a wordless coda -- is a breathtaking pyrotechnic triumph. The film will be shown as part of UNT's Exploring Multicultural Relations film series.