Black Moon (1975)

Liking or disliking this film appears roughly to be about a 50/50 split. In order to write a review that might add something useful to the many already written, I will try to point out some elements that could affect your enjoyment of this movie thereby helping you decide if you want to spend the time watching it, to wit:First off, it's not sci-fi. It is a fetishistic, pseudo-erotic fantasy that will not be particularly arousing to most people in the mainstream. There were several scenes that collectively made me decide to take "Uncle Louis" (Louis Malle, the director) off of my "A" list of babysitters.Secondly, while there are a few vague similarities to Charles L. Dodgson's (Lewis Carroll) "Alice in Wonderland", this thing is not even close. Dodgson's masterpiece combination of comically bizarre characters, charmingly absurd situations, wildly imaginative scenery and brilliantly logical dialogue remains both treasured and unmatched in all of history's known literature. On the other hand, this muddled romp through Louis Malle's rather...er..."peculiar" mind has all of the charm of a full-for-5-days, fish offal bin, on a hot August afternoon.The reviews that allude to this film being allegorical and/or composed of a parable(s) and/or containing deep "messages" regarding war, social inequity, animal rights, etc., etc., ad nauseum must have Malle rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically. A more realistic interpretation is that Malle decided to knit together a bunch of idiotic scenarios that had formed in his head while he was thinking about the silly and/or contentious issues of the day (radical feminism, the Vietnam war, etc.) mixed with the black sludge contents of his own psyche. The end result being "Black Moon". The point is that there is no point to this movie and it is likely deliberate!So, if you like watching films that are well-produced, well-photographed, artless euro- bourgeois, jumbled stream-of-consciousness, incoherent, pseudo-socially mindful, plot- free, products of Louis Malle's contemporary (to 1975) musings and possible masturbatory fantasies, then "Black Moon" is for you! Otherwise you might want to consider a good action-thriller and a tub of buttered popcorn (you'll have waaaaay more fun)!Best Regards, OtherView

this...film...was...weird. I was working my way down a "weirdest films" list when I got to this one. After seeing the trailer (the one where the badger gets run over by a car), I decided to watch. was this a good idea... I don't even know. What on earth did I watch? It's like a surrealist Bunuel movie, but more empty, with bad acting and literally nothing making sense. After watching this, I found out it was a Malle film, which I was very surprised at. Here is a conversation I found with Billy Wilder and Louis Malle: "Allegedly, the story goes like this. Billy Wilder runs into Louis Malle, this is in the late 50′s, early 60′s. And Louis Malle had just made his most expensive film, which has cost 2 1/2 million dollars. And Billy Wilder asks him what the film is about. And Louis Malle says "Well, it's sort of a dream within a dream." And Billy Wilder says "You just lost 2 1/2 million dollars" Apparently there are deep meanings to the images shown on film, but all I see is a random mess.

This movie starts in the middle of nowhere, has nowhere to go, and takes ALL DAY to get there. I like to think I enjoy strange and eclectic works of art, but this just blew me out of the water. There is a remote possibility for a plot, but since there is absolutely no setup or introduction (it just dives into the middle of a chain of events) all meaning is lost throughout the movie. I have never seen a work that was not a silent film that had less dialogue. Seriously, almost no one talks. It's like the people the 'protagonist' (can there be a protagonist without a plot?) comes into contact with simply speak through massages (not a typo- I really said massages). This movie is full of disgusting imagery and hints of incest. As another reviewer mentioned, the soundtrack is absolutely appalling. This film seems to be a series of random events and not one character finds any of it the least bit strange. Even a symbolic or metaphorical work needs to have some kind of realism or make some kind of sense to be in the least bit effective. The only thing this film is effective at is boring the viewer to sleep. Seriously, if you haven't yet, do NOT waste your time finding, renting, borrowing, purchasing, previewing, or even pirating this film. It's just not worth it.

What does it all mean? Life and death? Sexual awaking? Or just a simple dream shaped from our protagonist's mind? Well, I just don't know what to make of Louis Malle's "Black Moon". But there's no denying it's like a blurry dream, that when you wake up you just can't remember if there was any point to all of it. There's something hypnotic about it, although it didn't impress and kind of left me restless. At least you're not really sure what's going to happen, but that didn't make it any better. I went in not knowing what to expect, and the gloomy journey that occurs never stimulated or opened up any sort of feelings. To put it bluntly, I was left bored and baffled. This get-up started off well enough though, as a post-apocalyptic civil war seems to have broken out, but soon the narrative hit's a bump when our female protagonist stops off at a farmhouse and from then on it doesn't get up to much. Some splices of surreal imagery are fed in, but this weirdness never feels justified or has you bugged-eye in its sensationalism. It seems there to only aggravate. The dream-like surrealism interlocks with a realistic edge, but it never did it draw a line between the two. The screenplay is light on plot structure with it being held together by its collection of abstract, offbeat set-pieces that disturb or amaze. Malle's direction flourishes with stylish brushes, using unhinged images and vivid sound effects, as the script is sparse and slight. It's all about the reactions to the uncanny encounters. The filming location looks lush, and blossoms with exotic sensuality. A pristine glow comes from the beautifully orchestrated and artistically peering camera-work. And the harmonious score is faintly handled. The radiant leading actress Catherine Harrison's dazed and confused expressions mildly divert. Alexandra Stewart's glassy appearance is transfixing. This off-kilter, but vacant opus just didn't click.