About

Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession is an unparalleled slice of cinematic delirium. The film traces the tempestuous divorce between Mark (Sam Neill) and Anna (Isabella Adjani), who are living in West Berlin. Mark’s suspicions of Anna’s infidelity soon give way to far more disturbing revelations as their relationship and mental states deteriorate further.

Poorly received upon in its initial release – although Adjani would win the Best Actress award at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival for her audacious performance – the film is now regarded as one of the great cult films of the 1980s. Żuławski’s merging of a compelling tale of marital collapse with lurid psychosexual horror remains a staggering achievement, infused with the inherent paranoia of the then divided Berlin.

While motorcycles do not play a key narrative role in Possession, the film exemplifies the vehicle’s position as an immediate and potent cinematic symbol of freedom and danger. Anna’s lover Heinrich (Heinz Bennent) rides a Honda CBX1000 that not only figures decisively in the film’s climax but also staunchly contrasts Heinrich’s sexual and personal liberation against the staid Mark.

R18+