Possession is one of the most bizarre films I've ever seen. It's an art house film that delves into the horror genre, but arguably is not about "possession" at all, unless you're talking about Sam Neill's character struggling with the fact he doesn't own his wife, or you argue how one's anger and fear and other emotions might "possess" someone. Because the film does not deal with demonic possession is what attracted me to the film in the first place, I must admit considering myself a religious person I do not personally handle films of that type well. This film was up for some big awards at Canne (including the Palme D'or) the year it came out and Isabelle Adjani won the best Actress prize for her role (the most powerful scene of the film is when she goes into a fit of madness, arguably "being possessed" in the U Bahn station, in which she was actually put into a state of hypnosis by the director). The synopsis of this film is that it is about a failing relationship between Adjani and Neill's characters and the love triangle that exists when Adjani starts seeing another man. She eventually stops coming home and nobody knows where she goes or what she does during the days anymore, but Adjani has a secret, she has just given birth to a Lovecraftian Cthulu type monster and hides it in an apartment. The film shows that complications can come from unexpressed feelings or unresolved emotions and issues and manifest themselves in the most horrific of ways (similar to Cronenberg's The Brood). The film takes place in Berlin before the wall fell, and having just been there for the first time this summer, it is interesting to see how things have changed, and what things have remained the same. Make no mistake this is an Art House film, much more so than it is a horror film, so be prepared for Bergman-esque shots and soliloquy, confusion and SO much symbolism. The
film's symbolism is very hard to understand and is a contributing factor as to what makes this film feel exhausting to the viewer, a different review of the film had this to say about the film: " You're left feeling a bit like the characters, struggling with an experience beyond the power of language to exorcise." And I love symbolism in film and go out of my way to heavily analyze it normally, but as soon as I tried to interpret what was said a million more questions come up and ultimately I'd forget the original idea, and I have read other reviews of people saying the same thing happened to them. While the film is one of the most unique, bizarre and exhausting things I've ever seen, it is wonderfully acted and shot cinematography wise. The film is indeed a unique experience. While it may be becoming easier to find as of late (you can buy it on amazon for about $20 or so) for the longest time it was not available on any video format, but somebody uploaded a bootleg copy of it to youtube and you can see the whole film here. I give the film a 3.5/5, you can watch the trailer below:
This is apparently an incredibly hard to find film as it was never released on DVD. But if you do happen to find a copy of the film, here's what's in store: The movie is a historical fiction piece about novelist Franz Kafka as the main character in a world based on his own history (as an insurance clerk and writer before he became anti-establishment) and his novel The Castle. The film was the second film by Oscar winning director Steven Soderbergh (Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen, Erin Brockavich, Traffic, Contagion, and Magic Mike) it stars Oscar Winner Jeremy Irons (Reversal of Fortune, voice of Scar from Disney's Lion King) as Kafka, it's one of the last movies by Oscar winner Sir Alec Guinness (Obi Wan from Star Wars A New Hope, and The Bridge on The River Kwai) it also features Ian Holm ( old Bilbo from Lord of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies as well as the android from Alien [1979]), and one of my favorite actors Armin Muller Stahl (Shine, Avalon). The film is in black and white for the first half and changes to color when Kafka enters the castle, it also has really cool special effects and a great fight scene on top of a giant glass dome. It's similar to Terry Gilliam's Brazil, or George Orwell's 1984 and it is pretty cool if you know a bit about Kafka, his life, and his writings. I give it a 4/5. (P.S. gotta love the internet, somebody uploaded the entire movie to youtube, find it here, or just view the trailer here.
I've been watching a slew of originals lately: Willard (1971) for starters. The original is super hard to find due to the fact that it has never been released on DVD. It is a classic coming of age story about a boy who has the power to control rats, but he soon loses control of them, also a classic tale of revenge. There are some famous people in it, like Ernest Borgnine (gets killed by rats) and Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein). The movie was huge in its day and has some pretty good production value, including music written by an oscar winning composer, and LOTS of rats. The sequel to Willard, Ben (1972) had a theme song which was Michael Jackson's first solo hit. I give Willard a 3.5/5 Willard (1971) TV trailer
