POSSESSION

Mark (Sam Neill) is a government official who returns to Berlin, having just completed a covert Cold War mission. He learns there that his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) no longer wishes to be with him. He agrees, initially, to find somewhere local to stay and arrange access to their son Bob (Michael Hogben).

But Mark soon discovers he can't settle into this arrangement: he still loves Anna and the thought of losing her is driving him crazy. In particular, he's haunted by the notion that she may have found someone else. A telephone call to her friend Margit (Margit Carstensen) confirms to him that Anna has indeed been sleeping with a pretentious Zen-quoting lothario by the name of Heinrich (Heinz Bennent).

When Anna goes missing, Mark seeks out Heinrich in the belief that she's shacked up with him. A violent altercation leads to him discovering Heinrich hasn't seen her in weeks. When she finally returns to the marital home, she is vague about where she's been - "with new friends" - and Mark's paranoia increases.

The truth behind Anna's newfound near-catatonic state is, however, far odder - as the two detectives Mark hires are soon to find out...

Newcomers, beware. POSSESSION will perhaps forever be associated with the DPP's infamous "banned" list from the 1980s, due to its withdrawal from rental store shelves during the tabloid press-led video nasty panic of that era. However, it's about as far removed from the likes of ANTHROPOPHAGUS THE BEAST and NIGHTMARES IN A DAMAGED BRAIN as you could possibly imagine.

Far from being your typical low budget schlock, POSSESSION is an Andrej Zulawski film. Which means you should expect deliberately overripe performances, political allegory, pretentious dialogue and some of the most unfathomable character interactions ever committed to celluloid. While there is female nudity and a fair smattering of graphic violence (most infamously, a miscarriage scene in a subway station), those looking for a quick fix of simple tits 'n' gore may find the enveloping material - not to mention the 124-minute running time - a little tough to endure.

The initiated know what to expect. The weirdest, most histrionic performance of Neill's career; a trance-like Cesar Award-winning turn from Adjani that is as compelling as it is baffling, and sometimes downright laughable; beautiful cinematography which manages to capture the decaying Berlin architecture in an unexpectedly striking manner; a pulsating electro score of considerable atmosphere by Andrej Korsynski; and some crude FX from Carlo Rambaldi - the guy who'd previously created the gore for FLESH FOR FRANKENSTEIN, and who would go on to breathe life into ET: THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL's titular creature.

Is it a horror film? Yes and no. There is a monster, there is gore, there is fear. Is it a film about divorce? Yes and no. Divorce is on the cards, it would seem, and custody over the child definitely plays a part in the plot ... but Zulawski doesn't really seem overly concerned with entertaining any KRAMER VS KRAMER type tropes. Is it a film about possession? Yes, to a large extent - but only of the physical, manipulative variety. So, is it a political film? Yes and no. Sexual politics - from Heinrich's ironic code of ethics to the estranged Anna's empowerment through creation of her own lover - are certainly explored, while the Cold War backdrop places these alienated characters in a divided city setting that serves as a perfect microscope with which to examine their coldness, anger, violence and disillusionment more closely. Lest we forget, Zulawski is a Polish director filming in Berlin: a dark history can be felt throughout.

The film's most obvious metaphor is that of post-Cold War Europe as a place of paranoia and isolation. The oppressiveness is felt in every line of angst-ridden dialogue (co-written with Zulawski by American author Frederic Tuten), each decaying exterior location. Alongside this is the breakdown of the central marriage, symbolising the distancing of opposing political walls. Taken more literally, this aspect also serves as horror cinema's most visceral take on the pain of divorce since David Cronenberg's own open wound, THE BROOD. Another similarity to that film is how the anguish of the lead character is manifested physically through an ugly birth process.

Themes of motherhood, deceit, guilt, belonging (Nationally, politically and individually), redemption and basic needs further POSSESSION's ability to be read in many ways. It's also interesting to consider that the film's title could easily refer to the couple's tussle over custody of Bob. The all-encompassing concept that wraps POSSESSION up though, as far as I can see, is identity. It's a theme that is questioned and scrutinised throughout all of Zulawski's films.

More than this, POSSESSION is one weird, fucked up prospect. If you thought the aforementioned THE BROOD put a bold spotlight on the subject of divorce by way of a genre picture, then Zulawksi's film takes things to even further extremes. Every scene is a set-piece, be it aesthetically (lots of wide shots of icily grey, empty exteriors and interiors) or in terms of hysterical performances (Neill growing a beard and rocking in a chair for a week is outrageous, as is Adjani's screaming fit in the kitchen which results in her taking an electric carving knife to her own arm). This couple go through every negative emotion, and they do it with such intensity that it's all too easy to titter remorselessly at the screen. Newcomers, beware: you will most likely scorn POSSESSION.

But, hey, I adore this film. For all its pretentious script and bizarrely overblown performances, for all its unexplained details (Bob's tendency to hold his breath underwater at bath time; the relevance of the spy with the pink socks; Margit's broken leg; the school teacher who looks identical to Anna; Neill suddenly playing footie with a bunch of kids seconds after an outlandishly aggressive fight with Adjani ... I could go on and on): it's one of those films that rewards repeat viewings with something new each time. And, if you allow it to, its fevered tone does start to make sense as events progress - if you're not careful and get too immersed, you'll end up feeling as wired as the main characters come the end.

There is humour in here too, which is unusual for a Zulawski film. We also get regular action (fist fights, explosions, a frenzied motorcycle race through the city's empty streets) and a slimy tentacled monster which delivers a couple of relatively gory murders for those growing impatient.

For my money, POSSESSION is one of the best horror films of the 1980s. Even though it isn't necessarily a horror film - or, at least, horror is only one facet of this fascinating, challenging picture.

Second Sight have achieved a world first in bringing POSSESSION to blu-ray.

Their disc proffers the film, fully uncut, as an MPEG4-AVC file boasting full 1080p resolution. Correctly framed in its original 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the picture is enhanced for 16x9 televisions.

The transfer is the perfect example of a "mixed bag". For the most part, the film has never looked better. Day scenes exhibit a welcome amount of extra detail and depth, with warmer colours and brighter definition than ever before. Skin-tones are accurate and blacks, in the main, are solid. But then, there are some darker scenes where a lot of noise is present - most notably, perhaps, when the first detective searches Anna's apartment: there's a really bitty grain texture to the blacks here which is quite distracting. Elsewhere, a small handful of daytime sequences have been drained of so much colour that they seem almost monochrome. I've seen several home video format versions of POSSESSION and I've never known these scenes to ever look this anaemic.

On balance, the transfer is frequently excellent (remarkably so on many an occasion) but I was troubled by the intermittent flaws as mentioned above.

Audio-wise, the original English soundtrack is served extremely well in a fuss-free, clean and clear 2.0 LPCM mix. Optional English subtitles are well-written and easy to read.

The disc opens to an animated main page. From there, pop-up menus include a scene-selection menu allowing access to POSSESSION via 20 chapters.

Extras begin with the excellent audio commentary track that featured on Anchor Bay's longstanding US DVD release, which is now out-of-print. It's a great listen, full of political and thematic detail. Daniel Bird makes for a great moderator, prompting and encouraging Zulawksi intelligently along the way. Zulawski admits that his pitch for the film was "a woman fucking an octopus" ... "it's about human condition" he quickly adds. If you want a feel for how crazy the film itself is, that there should be enough to go on.

Co-writer Frederic Tuten spells his name out, for whatever reason, at the beginning of his audio commentary track. Again, Bird moderates but Tuten is a natural talker so his job is a little easier here. Tuten has a fair memory and a good sense of humour, along with a fondness for Zulawski.

"The Other Side of the Wall" is a highly enjoyable and informative 51-minute documentary from 2009 narrated by Daniel Bird. Zulawski is on hand to offer his thoughts on his early career, his exile from Poland and the political motivations for making POSSESSION. We also learn that Sam Waterston was originally in the running for the role of Mark, hear about the uproar the film's appearance at Cannes caused, and much more.

Interspersed with clips from the film and interviews with producers, it's a great documentary despite no appearances from the cast. Most of the documentary is presented in English, but optional subtitles are available to translate those who speak in Polish.

Next up is an interview with Zulawski. This provides a further 36 minutes of illumination with the wise one, who this time speaks in Polish with the benefit of optional English subtitles offered for us ignorant Brits. Here, Zulawski elaborates on how the furore surrounding the filming of ON THE SILVER GLOBE (the Polish government ordered a halt to filming for fear of the film's intent) inspired him to go on to make POSSESSION.

"Repossessed" is a most welcome 12-minute featurette offering a selection of comparisons between the original version of the film and its bastardised 1983 US theatrical cut, shorn of 40 minutes and saddled with a silly new score.

"A Divided City" is a 7-minute documentary looking at how the film's locations have changed since its 1981 shooting.

Composer Korsynski gets the opportunity to speak in the 19-minute "The Sounds of Possession". This is in Polish with English subtitles.

"Our Friend in the West" is an illuminating 6- minute chat with French producer Christian Ferry, who speaks very good English.

"Basha" is a 6-minute tribute to the female artist of that name who designed the iconic poster art for POSSESSION. Bird narrates, noting that the poster is "not unlike an old socio-realist sculpture" before going on to proffer a brisk career history of the talented artist.

Things are rounded off by the film's original 3-minute theatrical trailer.

POSSESSION remains a great film, as oppressive as it is. We get a whole host of brilliant extras to complement it. The transfer here is often remarkable but does have a couple of issues that make me wonder whether, having already own the film in four different forms over the years, this will be my last ever purchase of it. Hmm.

Review by Stuart Willis