Possession (1981) - "You know, when I'm away from you, I think of you as a monster or a woman possessed, and then I see you again and all this disappears."

Possession (1981), written by Andrzej Zulawski and Frederic Tutten, and directed by Zulawski is an absolutely insane piece of cinema, possibly the most insane piece of cinema I've ever seen.  I was lucky enough to see an uncut, restored 35mm print of the film at a midnight screening at the Music Box.  The film had been on my radar for the last year or so, I'd read about it here and there, and also heard Max Landis rave about it on Trailers from Hell, ifyou're not familiar, it's a webseries where Joe Dante (Director of Gremlins and The Howling) gathers various filmmakers together to provide commentaries for trailers of films they're passionate about, it's worth checking out.

Needless to say it was high up on my list of films to see, unfortunately it's ridiculously tough to get a hold of, Netflix doesn't have it on disc or instant and I don't believe it's streaming on any other platforms, with the exception of a drastically cut, cropped and vignetted version uploaded on youtube.  Luckily a new Special Edition Blu Ray has recently been released by Mondo Vision, but to the point.

(Isabelle Adjani)

Possession takes as its subject the crumbling marriage of Mark (Sam Neill) and Anna (Isabelle Adjani).  The film opens with Mark returning home to Berlin, before the wall cam down.  From what it seems he's been away for quite some time on business, it is implied that he is a spy of some sort.  Right from the get go things are on shaky ground, Anna almost immediately asks Mark for a divorce and subsequently admits to sleeping with other men.  Upon hearing this Mark is overcome with rage-fueled jealousy.  Anna then begins drifting in and out of their shared apartment, disappearing for days at a time.  Leaving Mark to care for their young son, Bob.

The pair meet in a cafe to discuss matters, their discussion quickly turning to bitter argument, soon boiling over into an unanticipated outburst of table-flipping and chair-throwing hysteria.  Mark calls one of Anna's close friends and coaxes her into revealing the name of Anna's lover: Heinrich.  Mark pays a visit to Heinrich, gets his ass handed to him, discovering in the process that their affair is old news.  The truth behind Anna's mysterious comings and goings is perhaps far more ominous.

I don't want to give too much away, though frankly it doesn't matter what you know going in, this film will surprise the shit out of you.  The events unfold in an utterly unpredictable manner. Things start off at a fever pitch and they just keep slopping on the crazy until you sit slack-jawed in your seat, staring up in total bewilderment.  At least that's what happened to me.  Isabelle Adjani performs with such intensity and commitment that no other performance can compare, save for maybe Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence.  There is an infamous scene in the subway, which I won't ruin for you, but MY GOD.  I won't even attempt to describe it, you'll have to see for yourself.  And the ever brilliant Sam Neill (who stole the show in this year's Hunt for the Wilderpeople which I just reviewed) has never been so manic and desperate on screen.  All the performances in this film are ratcheted up to 11.  And Bruno Nuytten's constantly roving camera, which makes incredible use of the Steadicam, mirrors the frenetic pace set by the actors.

(Zulawski directs Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill)

Possession is a cinematic masterwork given to infinite interpretations, as all great art should.  It is at once a stark look at the savagery of love, jealousy and the possessive nature of human relationships, a surreal horror film about an insatiable monster created by an unsatisfied woman and a political thriller about a spy coming back to the war at home.  Though I think all of these elements serve to underline the severity of feeling one experiences during the death of a romantic relationship, the surreal qualities of the story allowing for a more stylized depiction of the characters' emotional upheaval, this film is one to be experienced and as such will invariably leave each viewer with something different.

Notes on the filmmaker:
Andrzej Zulawski begin making films in his home country of Poland in the 1970s, but his second film The Devil was heavily censored and his third project On the Silver Globe was confiscated by the government, (over a decade later the film was released with additional footage and narration).  After this experience, Zulawski immigrated to France.  Possession was his only film in English.  Zulawski was going through a rough divorce from actress Malgorzata Braunek while writing the script, this of course influenced the story.  Upon its initial release, the film was lauded at the Cannes Film Festival with Adjani taking home the Best Actress prize, but in America the film was distributed by a porn company who hacked out 40 minutes and shot some additional schlock and gore footage, splicing it in to emphasize the horror elements, needless to say this helped contribute to its cold reception.  In the UK faring little better, the film was given a brief theatrical release before finding itself on the video nasties list, leaving it largely unavailable until 1999.  Zulawski continued his filmmaking career in France making 9 more films, his last being Cosmos (2015), before passing away in February of this year.  Though I've only seen two of his films, Possession and his directorial debut: The Third Part of the Night (1971), I must say he is a filmmaker of truly unique vision and style.  The Cinema Gods lament his passing.

P.S. if you want to check out his other films, three are available on youtube with english subtitles:

The Third Part of the Night (1971) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr5FqOFldAY
Diabel aka The Devil (1972) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ToQDUPUnX94
On the Silver Globe (1987) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQN_k-p9PCM

Check out the trailer below:

And Max Landis' Episode of Trailers From Hell: