Possession (1981)

Psychological Drama / Directed by Andrzej Zulawski

PLOT

Returning home to West Germany after an unspecified mission, a spy learns that his wife wants a divorce, though she refuses to tell him why. As he tries to understand her reasons, the viewer witnesses the couple’s slow descent into madness.

REVIEW

I first saw this film when I was a kid, though I couldn’t say where or when exactly. Considering its year of release and its content, I’m guessing it likely was in Saudi Arabia, where I would sneak into the theatre to watch horror movies. This is kind of ironic, as I dislike horror movies, but back then I watched quite a few.

Either way, “Possession” left its mark on me. Weirdly, mind you, because I couldn’t remember a single scene. All I could recall was the title, that Adjani was in it, and that it was impressive. I can only assume I remembered more at first, but the memories faded with time.

I’d been meaning to revisit this one for some years. And when I finally decided to go ahead with it, about a week ago, I started reading up on it. And I grew anxious. Was this a good idea? The descriptions made it sound extreme and harrowing. I was also concerned it might have gore in it, as it originally was banned in the UK as a “video nasty.” I don’t mind old-style horror (a la Hammer Films, for instance), but gore makes me sick. Also, its first-run release in the United States was heavily edited down from 123 minutes to 81.

Still, after much debating, I decided to go ahead with it—though I still was apprehensive.

The good news is, there is no gore. It does have violence and blood and disturbing scenes... But, at the core, it is (in my opinion) more of a psychological drama.

Don’t get me wrong, there is also horror here, but the truth is that this movie defies categorization. There are elements of a spy film, elements of body horror, and elements of many other genres. But, at the core, the story is about a breakup gone very wrong.

Let me pause here a moment to mention the acting. It is, quite simply, phenomenal. Especially the two leads—a young as-yet unknown Sam Neill and the French superstar Isabelle Adjani. The first couple of scenes between them felt a bit wooden to me, to be honest, but it gets much much better as the film progresses. The last thirty minutes or so are some of the best acting I’ve ever seen committed to film.

At the time “Possession” was made, Adjani was already a big star—at least in France. She wanted to try for an international career and had played a few years prior in Walter Hill’s sophomore effort “The driver,” but it faired poorly at the box office. This was for her a new opportunity to aim for that market.

Though technically a French-German production, the film was shot in English in Berlin in July 1980—at a time when the Wall had not yet been torn down. And the Wall became a central plot element. Perhaps I should call it more of a symbol—the couple was divided the same way the city was. The Wall can be seen throughout the film—the two apartments where most of the action takes place are both across the street from it.

I think to understand this movie, it is important to understand the context in which it was made. Not just the East/West division, but also the director’s mental state.

At the time, he had just come out of a painful divorce with Polish actress Malgorzata Braunek. He drew on that experience to feed the plot. An example of this is when Mark (Sam Neill’s character) comes home to find their son has been left alone for hours. The boy is covered in jam, the house a mess. This really happened to Zulawski.

Adding to his unrest, his previous film had been banned in his home country and he had to flee Poland to make more.

Of course, much of the plot is pure fabrication. This is especially obvious when the supernatural elements are introduced (48 minutes in). Even those, however, serve the breakup scenario. Just like the Wall, they work as symbols, highlighting the torture and depression Zulawski endured during his separation from Braunek. He was plagued with suicidal thoughts—which this film also induced in its female lead. According to the director, Adjani attempted to kill herself shortly after the shoot.

Both Adjani and Neill have shared how grueling and harrowing the shoot was. If you watch “Possession,” I’m sure you’ll understand why when you see the subway scene. It is... unsettling, to say the least.

I’ve always liked Adjani, but this film gave me a new appreciation for her talent. The way she can display so much insanity in her facial expressions is simply astounding. And she can go from that to a caring, loving woman in the blink of an eye. Throughout the film, she shows dread, concern, love, hatred, anxiety, despair, madness... You never know what to expect from her when she appears in a scene. You have to see it to believe it.

Without spoiling the movie, there is a point when I wondered if any of what we see is true. There’s an argument to be made that we are witnessing the visions of these characters as they spin out of control. One might even find hints of this—like the clean bed a few minutes after the sheets were filthy with blood.

But who is having these visions? Mark or Anna? If you expect an answer from the film, you’ll be disappointed. Not that it offers no closure, but it does leave a lot of room for interpretation.

And speaking of the end (don’t worry, no spoilers here)... In many ways, it is superb. Perfect, I might even venture to say. As symbolic as the rest of the film.

In a way, this is also a testament to how far a person can go to show their love to another human being. But make no mistake, this is not a feel-good movie. Do not watch it if you’re looking for something to cheer you up.

In retrospect, I get why it had such a powerful impact on me as a child. Though I still can’t believe how anyone could allow a kid to watch this. Certainly not my parents—which is why I think it more likely I snuck into a matinee, possibly with some friends...

Idiot me.

That said, if you want to see some phenomenal acting—and are not daunted by the prospect of some very unsettling scenes—I wholeheartedly recommend watching this.

I promise you a powerful and incredible experience.

On a side note, both the uncut and the 81-minute versions can be found on archive.org.

Obviously, I recommend the uncut one (it’s also on YouTube).

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So, what about you? Have you seen this movie? What did you think of it?

And what is your favorite ‘weird’ film?

Tell us in the comments.

Mark (Neill) and Anna (Adjani) are so estranged they can’t even share a table…

TRIVIA NOTES

• Andrzej Zulawski was a celebrated director who shunned mainstream cinema. Fleeing his native Poland to make films in France, he was popular in Europe where he won many awards for his work. He made 14 films in 44 years, including “That most important thing: love,” the Science-Fiction epic “On the silver globe,” and the musical “Boris Godunov.”

• Isabelle Adjani’s first brush with success came when she played on stage as a child. On the big screen, her first hit was “La gifle,” and she won her first award for her performance in François Truffaut’s “The story of Adèle H.” Her role in “Possession” earned her two further awards for “best actress.” Other highlights of her career include the French films “The tenant,” “One deadly summer,” “Camille Claudel,” and “Queen Margot.” Her English-language films include “The driver,” “Quartet,” “Ishtar,” “Diabolique,” and Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu the vampyre.”

• Born in New Zealand, Sam Neill has had a successful career in Hollywood. His leading roles include “Omen III,” “Dead calm,” and “In the mouth of madness.” He was also in “The hunt for Red October,” “Memoirs of an invisible man,” “The piano,” “Event horizon,” and “Bicentennial man.” Perhaps his most famous part is as Dr. Alan Grant in the “Jurassic Park” franchise.

• Cinematographer Bruno Nuytten was in a relationship with Adjani at the time “Possession” was made. She later starred in his directorial debut “Camille Claudel” (which earned her another award). Aside from his numerous credits in French film, he also DP’ed for Stuart Rosenberg’s “Brubaker,” starring Robert Redford.

• The director hired Italian virtuoso Carlo Rambaldi to design the creature seen in the film. He is best known for his work on “Alien” and “E.T.” which both earned him awards for best visual effects. He was also involved in the 1976 version of “King Kong,” Spielberg’s “Close encounters of the third kind,” “Conan the Destroyer,” and David Lynch’s “Dune.”

CREDITS

Directed by Andrzej Zulawski.

Adaptation and dialogue by Andrzej Zulawski and Frederic Tuten, from an original screenplay by Andrzej Zulawski.

Produced by Marie-Laure Reyre.

Music by Andrzej Korzynski.

Cinematography by Bruno Nuytten.

Edited by Marie-Sophie Dubus.

Starring Isabelle Adjani as Anna / Helen, Sam Neill as Mark, Margit Carstensen as Margit Gluckmeister, Heinz Bennent as Heinrich, Johanna Hofer as Heinrich’s mother, Carl Duering as detective, Shaun Lawton as Zimmermann, Michael Hogben as Bob, Maximilian Ruethlein as man with pink socks, Thomas Frey as pink socks’ acolyte, Leslie Malton as Sara, Gerd Neubert as subway drunk, Kerstin Wohlfahrt, Ilse Bahrs, Karin Mumm, Herbert Chwoika, Barbara Stanek, Ilse Trautschold.

Produced by Oliane Productions (France) / Marianne Productions (France) / Soma Film Produktion (West Germany).

Distributed by Gaumont (France) / Limelight International Films (USA).

Released on May 27, 1981 (France) / October 28, 1983 (USA).

Running time: 123 minutes (original uncut version) and 81 minutes (first-run USA release).

Genre: Psychological Drama.

French poster artwork by Barbara Baranowska.

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Text (c) 2024 by Alex S. Garcia.

Header image: screenshot of the film’s title card.

Film poster courtesy of Barbara Baranowska via culture.pl (for the French poster) and IMP Awards (for the US poster).