Black Moon (1975)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Louis Malle

Writers:

Louis Malle (written by)
Joyce Buñuel (collaboration: dialogue)

Release Date:

24 September 1975 (France)

Genre:

Fantasy | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

An apocalyptic Alice in Wonderland!

Plot:

There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality...

Plot Keywords:

Unicorn | Dead Woman On Ground | Alternative Reality | Dead Body | Snake

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Cathryn Harrison	...	Lily
Therese Giehse	...	Old Lady (as Thérèse Giehse)
Alexandra Stewart	...	Sister Lily
Joe Dallesandro	...	Brother Lily

Runtime:

France:100 min | France:95 min

Country:

France | West Germany

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:12 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (bw) | Brazil:16

Company:

Nouvelles Éditions de Films (NEF)

Quotes:

Lily: I see. Your name's Lily too. Funny, you spell it differently.

Soundtrack:

Tristan und Isolde

A must see

I saw this film when it was first released in the US in 1975. It played at the Carnegie Hall Cinema right underneath Carnegie Hall. One reviewer called it a disappointment but they must have seen another movie. The group I was with was about as sophisticated as film goers get and everyone of them were simply awed by this film. This is not a film you think you way through rather you let the archetypal symbolism sweep over you. The film works on the deep subconscious of the viewer and what at first appears to be complete madness slowly turns into a new reality that works. Eventually it all appears to be perfectly normal even though it's anything but.

I will never forget walking home from the theater to the upper west side that night in the freezing subzero temperatures. Homeless people, wrapped in whatever clothes they could find, trying in vain to keep warm held out their empty hands in hope some one would drop a coin in them. It was a dark, empty and bitter cold city devoid of any feeling and I recall thinking that this was the real madness and the movie seemed so warm and inviting by comparison. I consider this film to a true masterpiece that for some bizarre reason has simply dropped off the radar screen. Carl Jung would have loved it, see it and see what I mean, if you can find it. Magnificent and exquisite cinematography by Sven Nykvist, Ingmar Bergmans famous director of Photography.