POSSESSION

THE TEN PILLARS OF BEACON: A WOMAN LOSING HER MIND

“Rarely has the screen been subject to such awe-inspiring fits of hysteria… all suggesting a purification process that leads to a higher state of being akin to divinity.” – Kier-la Janisse

There would be no cinema if women didn’t go absolutely ape shit every now and then. What makes her do it? What does she want? The subject of great interest by directors, writers and actors alike, women’s minds have been dissected again and again for our viewing pleasure. You can find her in any genre– from arthouse interpretations like CONTEMPT or PERSONA to comedies like A NEW LEAF, and most often and to the most dramatic effect in horror. Yet, she has yet to be understood– and this is her greatest gift. As a symbol, the psychotic woman is the ultimate embodiment of cinema at its most mysterious, frightening and compelling.

Banned upon its original release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other. Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani, in a role that earned her immortality) insistent on a divorce. As Anna’s frenzied behavior becomes ever more alarming, Mark discovers a truth far more sinister than his wildest suspicions. With its pulsating score, visceral imagery, and some of the most haunting performances ever captured on screen, POSSESSION is cinematic delirium at its most intoxicating.