Possession

DVD Anchor Bay Entertainment
1980, 123 minutes

review by Shade Rupe

Wow. I have to admit that I've been in the dark on this filmmaker, although his name has been mentioned repeatedly in my film viewing career. This film tops the list, most likely because it's the only film of Zulawski that made its way to American turf, albeit cut by 45 minutes and shorn of its original intent, as is the norm.

And now I hunger for more. Although nowhere near as intensely as the hugely dysfunctional, beyond codependent relationship espoused in Possession.Only Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf comes anywhere near the hateful intensity of two people who just cannot be rid of each other.

A pre-Satan's son Sam Neill plays Mark, beyond obsessed with his wife's infidelity (the frumpily beautiful Isabelle Adjani as Anna). So much so that he tortures himself endlessly with shaking her up and bringing her back to him. A checklist of heavy codependence runs through this relationship, and heavy love addiction in Mark's dependence and Anna's avoidance belies a truth that materializes in slow doses throughout the film, resulting in a horrific physical announcement. Her infidelity rests not just with another, but with a creature she gave birth too, first existing as a bloody lump with tentacles, metamorphosing into an alien-like pointy-headed beast, and finally emerging as...

The "love-making" scenes are a particular delight, and the stills of those sessions have driven the hunger for fans of off-beat cinema, and they most definitely do not disappoint in their enacted version. Sam's obsessive thoughts are deleriously realized by Burno Nuytten's camera movements. Incessantly rocking back and forth in a chair, his mind seething with thoughts of rescuing and getting her back, the camera swoops in and back, narrowly missing his head on the return.

Although always marketed as a 'horror film,' and it is a horror film, those looking for a sex-filled mushy gushy lovegore fest may or may not find what they're looking for. The focus of the film is the horror that this couple has created with their intensity for chaos, which in actuality is the metaphor created by the embryonic child-thing that Adjani has smitten herself with. Fans of Roman Polanski's The Tenant will understand the horror presented here.

If this is but a mere taste of Zulawski's power as a filmmaker, my DVD player is ready to rumble with more of the the emotion-shattering work of this highly-gifted Polish filmmaker. Really, an astounding work, and thanks to Daniel Bird who had established a relationship with the director for a book study, and Norman Hill of Scarecrow Video, this film is now available for our consumption.

Mr. Bird accompanies Mr. Zulawski on a dynamic and intelligent commentary track, highlighting further revelations on Zulawski's particular obsessions at work. Anchor Bay's DVD also includes the international trailer and US theatrical trailer.

Marvelously presented in its full 1:66 ratio, and sharp and clear and colorful, Anchor Bay has done a very fine job in transporting this film from European obscurity to American establishment. We can only hope that other film companies find more of Zulawski's work to transfer.

Official website:

http://www.anchorbayentertainment.com