But the notoriety surrounding the film ensured that a cult would develop around it over the years, even in America, where the full-length version eventually turned up at repertory screenings and occasional showings on TCM. Now, to mark the film’s 40th anniversary, a new 4K restoration is here. To watch "Possession" again is to realize that it remains one of the most grueling, powerful, and overwhelmingly intense cinematic experiences that you are likely to have in your lifetime.
Because the plot of the film is both insanely complex (God only knows how it must have played in that shortened version) and dependent on a number of outrageous surprises, I will keep my summary brief. Set in West Berlin, the film opens as spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns home from his latest espionage mission to discover that his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. Mark very reluctantly agrees to move out and leaves their young son, Bob (Michael Hogben), in Anna’s custody, and then proceeds to go on an extended drinking binge. Afterwards, he returns to the apartment and is horrified to discover that Bob has been left for what has clearly been some period of time. When Anna returns, Mark insists on staying with them, unwilling to leave Bob alone with her anymore. She takes off again in the middle of the night and Mark gets a phone call from her lover, Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), informing him that she's staying with him.
The already frayed situation soon grows increasingly bizarre. Mark meets Helen, Bob’s schoolteacher, and is startled to discover that she's an exact lookalike for Anna. Mark pays a visit to Heinrich, who insists he hasn’t seen Anna in a while and then beats up Mark. When Anna does make an appearance, they also fight—one argument ends up with each one cutting themselves with an electric knife—before she flees yet again. Mark eventually decides to hire a private detective to follow Anna around to find out where she's staying and what she's doing. The detective eventually discovers that she has taken another apartment in a run-down building and decides to go inside to investigate further.
It's at this point that I will say no more about what happens next. Suffice to say, it quickly becomes apparent that the pain, anguish, and borderline hysteria on full display in the opening scenes is only a mere prelude for the incredible amount of physical and emotional brutality to come. I will also point out that the film involves the work of special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi and his contribution is so far removed, both in looks and temperament, from E.T., the character he presented to the world the very next year, that it seems impossible they both came from the same person.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7s7vGnqmempWnwW%2BvzqZmq52mnrK4v46ppqyrlajAqrvNZqSorpmaerOx1aKcsGViZX9y