Possession (1981)
(In French, On Cable TV, September 2020) Holy doppelgangers, you’re in for a wild ride in watching Possession. What begins as a troubling break-up between husband and wife constantly becomes even more bizarre, disturbing and incomprehensible. There is a spectrum of levels of analysis available to those who make it to the final frames, from a surface-level “huh, that was weird,” to intricate theories denying even the most obviously supernatural moments of the film. At times psychological thriller, self-destructive drama, body horror, surrealist tragedy, demented action and cosmic enigma, Possession is a multi-level cake of mystery, available for delicious contemplation. Writer-director Andrzej Żuławski slathers the symbolism like he was afraid to run out of it—double characters, a city divided in two, occult events versus secret agents, and so on. Both Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill turn in exceptional, difficult performances. Possession is one of those films that is both diminished and enhanced by discussions—try to see it first (uncut version!) and then dive into the analysis.