Black Moon (1975)
Starring: Cathryn Harrison, Joe Dallesandro, Alexandra
Stewart
Plot: To escape a war, a girl flees to a remote farmhouse
and becomes part of an expansive family's unusual, perhaps even supernatural
lifestyle.
My Review and Thoughts:
This is possibly one of the strangest, oddest, weirdest,
wackiest, confusing and all around twisted little movie. It's the future and
it's war between the sexes, females hate men and men hate women (Isn’t that
today). They fight and kill each other. You're introduced to your main
character named Lily, a young girl who comes upon a compound, a house, which
has interesting characters and interesting moments of confusion and a twisted
concept of a fairytale type setting.
Lily first discovers a pig with a bunch of naked children
walking down the path. Then she finds a pig sitting in a highchair that talks
to her. Then an old elderly woman in her bed talking to a rat and the rat seems
to be having an argument with the old woman. Right then you should know what
you're getting into. This is a very odd and in the since, almost like an
art-house, confusion of imagery and a deep dark trip down the rabbit hole.
Alice finding herself in Wonderland. That's what I feel this movie reminds me
of, a basic concept of a mirror image world with strangeness.
Lily then meets a young man on the compound played by the
wonderful Joe Dallesandro who talks through his mind and Lily seems to
understand. His name is also Lily and he has a sister also named Lily. The
sister breast-feeds the elderly woman in the bed upstairs that young Lily
thought was dead.
This is a masterpiece of imagery. A masterpiece of
confusion. A masterpiece of strange scenarios and an all-around twisted example
of a fairytale. The subconscious nightmare or dream like state, comes to life
on screen. The imagery and the situations and scenarios is something so hard to
explain unless you've seen it.
I have always been a huge fan of Joe Dallesandro. He is such
a beautiful man and is an iconic pop culture character. A true male sex symbol
of the underground film movement.
The elderly woman after coming back to life and getting
nourishment through being breast-fed, can communicate and talk through a
dialect that is not understandable and also can communication with animals.
This is ultimately a very unique and very original mind
screw of a film. A true Avant-garde dreamscape. Directed by the amazing
one-of-a-kind brilliant and awesome legendary director Louis Malle. He crafted
something that defies explanation. A film that the very mind is dumbfounded
when experiencing it. He was truly a master director that sadly passed away at
the very young age of 63, but his talent continues to shine as long as you can
experience his films. He created another one of my favorite films of all time,
one of my top 20, 1971's Murmur of the Heart. Also crafted his mastery talent
in masterpieces of film such as 1974's Lacombe, Lucien, 1981's My Dinner with
Andre. The tour-de-force masterpiece 1987's Au Revoir Les Enfants. Interesting
to note he was married to Murphy Brown a.k.a. Candice Bergen. He was a master,
writer, director and gifted visionary.
Now this stars the very young 15-year-old Cathryn Harrison
as Lily. She owns her part and creates something truly fascinating, stunning in
her overall performance of this confused Alice in Wonderland type character.
Lily is lost in a fantasy world melted in with the reality of the real world. A
unicorn, talking pigs and naked children bring this unforgettable mind screw to
the forefront of un-rational means that are clouded or painted over with a quality
of the inner subconscious.
Now this also stars the very wonderful amazingly gifted
talented extraordinary actress Therese Giehse as the old woman. Sadly she
passed away shortly after the movie was made and the film is dedicated to her.
She also starred in one of my favorite films of all time Lacombe, Lucien
(1974). She was truly a mesmerizing performer.
Also starring Alexandra Stewart as Sister Lily. She is a
beautiful and stunning talented actress that still graces acting and cinema
today. She has acted in many feature films and television. Over 130
performances and she owns every part she graces.
This is a shining portrait of an Avant-garde nature of
filmmaking. A true stark, visionary, talented scripted idea for the screen.
Through dreamlike images and a haunting type nightmare come to life. If you
ever wondered what it would be like to be raped in the mind by a fairytale,
look no further than this awesome, unique acid trip of a dark endless rabbit
hole.