POSSESSION
ANDRZEJ ZULAWSKI | FRANCE, WEST GERMANY | 1981 | 124 MIN | R | ENGLISH, FRENCH, GERMAN | 4K
The sheer insanity of Andrzej Żulawski’s POSSESSION is not seen, but truly felt to the core with its near-inscrutable story of espionage, divorce, doppelgangers, and Lovecraftian monsters. With camerawork that would make the Malick/Luzbecki teamup blush, Żulawski fearlessly dives into the chaos of marital destruction when international spy Mark (Sam Niel) returns home to find that his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) seeks a separation with her child in tow. As Mark attempts to hopelessly make sense of the brash decision, Anna takes her new found freedom to heart as she indulges in some of the most surprisingly lovely, and grotesque, scenes cut to film across an eerily empty West Berlin of the 80s. Adjani’s performance is a true tour de force that was awarded Best Actress at Cannes and continually inspires homages like that found in France’s enfant terrible Gaspar Noé’s own descent into hell Climax. There is no other film out there like POSSESSION and with this astonishing 4K restoration it has never looked better.
Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent
Part of the Philadelphia Film Society’s AFTER HOURS series.
Bringing together the odd, eerie, thrilling, and downright weird, this is the home of cult classics.
A Note on Health & Safety
As of Monday January 3, PFS requires masking as well as proof of vaccination at the Film Center & PFS Bourse.
Acceptable forms of proof of vaccination include your CDC record/card or a picture of the vaccination card along with photo I.D.
Masks are required at all times except when eating or drinking in the theater. Children aged 5 years & 3 months through 11 will be required to have one dose of COVID vaccine by January 3 and to complete their vaccine series by February 3.
Click HERE for all of our health and safety regulations.