Possession (1981 film)

Infobox Film
name = Possession


caption = original film poster
director = Andrzej Żuławski
producer = Marie-Laure Reyre
writer = Frederic Tuten Andrzej Żuławski
starring = Isabelle Adjani
Sam Neill
music = Andrzej Korzynski
cinematography = Bruno Nuytten
editing = Marie-Sophie Dubus Suzanne Lang-Willar
distributor =
released = May 27, 1981

runtime = 97 Mins
Edited
123 Mins
Director's Cut
country = France West Germany
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by =
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:38826
imdb_id = 0082933

Movie Plot

The story tells of a young woman who left her family for unknown reasons. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts to investigate his wife. At first, he suspects a man is involved. What follows is a series of strange, compelling and surreal events in which he finds out her unusual behaviors and habits, that indicate something of a darker nature at work in the woman's psyche.

Movie Background

"Possession" is a 1981 cult movie directed by Andrzej Żuławski. It was filmed in Berlin, West Germany. The director has stated that he wrote the screenplay in the midst of a messy divorce. Viewers have found it difficult to properly classify this film, whether as drama, horror, or suspense, but there are elements of all three present in the movie. Some reviewers have interpreted "Possession" as an intense drama focusing on the effects of marital problems and stress upon children.

The film was very controversial when first released and heavily edited for distribution in the United States. In the United Kingdom, "Possession" was banned as one of the notorious Video Nasties, although released uncut on DVD in 1999. It gradually developed a minor cult following among arthouse aficionados.

There have been comparisons to David Cronenberg's "The Brood" (who also produced his film while he was in the midst of a contentious divorce) and Ken Russell's "The Devils".

The character Mark (played by Sam Neill) returns home to Berlin to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) is leaving him for an unclear reason. He initially suspects an affair and snoops on his wife, but he gradually discovers clues that something far stranger is afoot. Instead, his wife leaves him and her lover, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent) for a bizarre experience with a strange creature.

Controversy

The main item of controversy was the intense performance of Isabelle Adjani, who is seen in something akin to an epileptic seizure in a subway station tunnel as fluids ooze from her body. (Some have interpreted this as a miscarriage.) Her performance is harrowing and caused an outcry. In another scene, she is seen making love to a tentacled creature. All these scenes contributed to the dark and disturbing nature of the piece.

Notes of interest

Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi assisted in creating the tentacle creature featured in the film.

External links

*
* [http://filmwalrus.blogspot.com/2007/04/review-of-possession-1981.html Possession] review at [http://filmwalrus.blogspot.com/ The Film Walrus]
* [http://www.thespinningimage.co.uk/cultfilms/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=599 Review at SpinningImage UK reviewer]