Originally released to a parade of indifference back in 1981, this showpiece of crazed intensity took a few decades to find full appreciation, but is cheeringly now recognised as the classic it is.

Taking as its starting point the disintegration of a toxic marriage, Possession starts in the throes of extreme emotion and takes off from there. But it's also a detective story, an exploratory riff on cold war paranoia, a musing on monsters (real and imagined) and how it feels to descend into madness. Plus lots of other things. Some things aren't ever going to synopsize neatly, so let's not bother. If you've seen it, see it again (on the big screen!), if you haven't, come and see (prepare yourself!). It's what film was invented for. A true batshit benchmark.

Ah, Possession. The world changed so you didn't have to.

+++ Also look out for a screening of director Andrzej Żuławski's mind-bending sci-fi epic 'On the Silver Globe' next month! +++