Possession (1981)

During a secretive business trip away, Mark learns that his wife Anna is growing restless in what he believed was their happy marriage. Upon his return home, he learns from her that she ... See full summary »

Director:

Andrzej Zulawski

Writers:

Andrzej Zulawski (original screenplay), Andrzej Zulawski (adaptation),

Stars:

Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen

5 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Isabelle Adjani	...	Anna / Helen
Sam Neill	...	Mark
Margit Carstensen	...	Margit Gluckmeister
Heinz Bennent	...	Heinrich
Johanna Hofer	...	Heinrich's mother
Carl Duering	...	Detective
Shaun Lawton	...	Zimmermann
Michael Hogben	...	Bob
Maximilian Rüthlein	...	Man with pink socks (as Maximilian Ruethlein)
Thomas Frey	...	Pink sock's acolyte
Leslie Malton	...	Sara, woman with club foot
Gerd Neubert	...	Subway drunk
Kerstin Wohlfahrt
Ilse Bahrs
Karin Mumm

Storyline

During a secretive business trip away, Mark learns that his wife Anna is growing restless in what he believed was their happy marriage. Upon his return home, he learns from her that she wants a divorce. They both go through a series of different emotions related to their situation, Mark's which is generally obsessive about learning why Anna, who he still loves, wants the divorce, and Anna's which is generally increasingly histrionic in getting away from Mark. Caught in the middle is their infant son Bob, who Mark uses as a gage to Anna's mental state. Anna states that her want for the divorce is not because of another man, but Mark finds out that Anna has a lover named Heinrich. In the meantime, Mark also meets Bob's teacher Helen, who looks exactly like Anna, but is her polar opposite in temperament. Starting a relationship with Helen lessens his obsession with Anna. But as Mark and Anna's encounters together reach more emotional and violent levels, Mark, with help of a private ...

---

Plot Keywords:

obsession | teacher | affair | son | existentialism | 

---

Taglines:

She created a monster as her secret lover!

---

Genres:

Drama | Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1981 (France)

Also Known As:

The Night the Screaming Stops

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Oliane Productions, Marianne Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min 80 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Isabelle Adjani told a French magazine that it took her several years to get over playing Anna. She also said that she'd never take on a similar role.

---

Quotes

Panel member: Does our subject still wear pink socks?

---

Connections

Referenced in Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005)

User Reviews

She's the maker of her own evil

Surely other Zulawski movies like "La femme publique" and "L'important c'est d'aimer" have dark, disturbing moments, too, but "Possession" must be the most terrifying of them all. It all begins perfectly normal, like something that could happen every day, anywhere in your neighborhood: Anna (Adjani) leaves Mark (Sam Neill), she confesses she found a new lover already a year ago, and then the breaking up of their marriage naturally affects their little son, too. "I'm the maker of my own evil", Anna says once, and the evil she creates is visualized literally as a slimy demon, whereas Mark "creates" a school teacher looking exactly like Anna (and also played by Adjani), a woman so pure and innocent they go to bed together without having sex, and of course the idealized woman immediately takes care of his son ... and the dish washing ;-). The torment and hysteria of destroyed love is perfectly set in a Berlin before reunification, with the wall appearing countless times in the frame: an obvious symbol that divides what used to belong together, just like the characters in the movie. The "possessed" Adjani delivers an unforgettable performance, but if you are going to watch this, be prepared for more blood and guts than in "The Exorcist".