Possession - FULL LENGTH REACTION

Heh, I totally get your reactions to this one; when I first saw this I was kind of the same way. Downloaded a copy of this when I was in high school and first getting into movies like The Thing, In the Mouth of Madness and played this thinking it would be another in that vein. It...hella was not. I found it exhausting, but there was something in there that appealed to me in just how crazy it all is. I think that's what brought me back years later and now I think of it as one of my favorite films. Just such a pure nightmare vision that I really dig, not only bc of the atmosphere but bc at this point I'm into teasing out all the different threads going on in the movie. I'm just into deciphering I guess, and this movie is kind of a treasure trove for me because even though I get why folks might want things trimmed I'm into films that can touch on multiple different things in their runtime. Even though it's not exactly a tight film, I feel like a lot of scenes/lines that are technically throwaway just kinda hit for me (man the dialogue is insane in this film, fire). Indulgence is cool for me, if I can get into the things being indulged I suppose; I can definitely say I've watched a fair amount of movies at this point that are just kind of bad but I dig because of the action or style. And this is a In terms of explanations I can give some directions but I'd also say that if I was in your position I also don't expect them to change your opinion that much and I think that Matthew already picked up on some of them in his breakdown. In terms of the comments from the creators: Yeah the director, Zulawaski went through a nasty breakup with his wife and all that type of relationship drama is pretty clear on the surface of the film, although I think it's so deeply intrinsic to the movie that it's both the surface and the core in some ways, it's just there are a lot of other things in that as well. Zulawaski also made the film in some ways to represent his breakup with his home country of Poland, as the at the time repressive Communist government basically prevented him either directly or indirectly from making the art he wanted and he had to leave. That's why there's all this spy stuff throughout the film, the Berlin wall (and being set in Berlin in general), untrustworthy employers, the bombs falling at the end. In terms of the monster itself, the director is also on record I believe as stating that it represents harmful ideology itself. You have this thing in a room that is vague, a sort of not connected mess like Emily mentioned, made out of words and ideas, but when you start putting that into practice it starts to get more and more defined, and more and more blood is required throughout that process and bodies stack up. But the fun thing is that this script was cowritten by an American writer, and he actually has a different interpretation of the monster. The cowriter mentioned seeing it as a creation made by a desperate woman in a dire situation. To him, it's a thing of beauty, because it gives her strength and comfort and comes from her own efforts. For my interpretations which I came up with before learning of what the creators said and I'm sticking with, neither of those things completely fit. There's a weird lovecraftian monster thing, but I think unlike actual eldritch things this is an intensely personal creature. It exists, imo, as a reflection of the fears and desires of Mark and Anna. Mark can only see it as a monster which I think can represent how a jealous lover in that scenario can only see another suitor as something inhuman. But as the relationship keeps going it becomes Mark, and in that way I think it represents a different kind of possessiveness in that now when Mark looks at this other suitor he can only picture himself with her. In the same vein, the reason the schoolteacher is Anna's twin is because he's so obsessed that he just sees his missing wife in other women he meets. Now how this fits with Heinrich (love this weird faux-enlightened hypocritical character lol) and Marge (weirdly sexually tense woman who hates him or something) could relate to how warped his perception is in this state which could make him exaggerate certain aspects of their character until they become even bigger weirdos than they actually are. I also suppose it's possible that Heinrich himself being overshadowed by the Tentacle Monster Baby who becomes NotMark could represent that the men themselves are less important ultimately than what they represent to the jealous Mark in the end. But part of the deal that keeps me coming back to this movie I think is that the weird dream/nightmare logic of the film prevents there just being one answer, but gives you a lot of alleys to chase down. I just think it's neat! But I totally get that it's a hit and miss film for a bunch of reasons. Tbh, I could have probably stepped you up to something like this by testing the waters with other films first...but I kinda also just wanted to drop this on someone the same way it was dropped on me and see what people could make of it heh. Not hate, but just really liking a thing and wanting to share it even with how extremely into itself it is. And now I know what directions i should not go into too far so that'll be helpful for future picks lol Also side note I also def understand the Breen comparison, because I figured out after getting into his stuff after your reaction that I really like his stuff (to a point, minus the filler scenes) because he appeals to the side of me that really likes dissecting weird shit like this movie but unlike with this movie (imo) his movies all have either no meaning at all or really dumb meanings and it cracks me up whenever I think about certain things.

Kelvin