The Possessed

One of the most underseen films in the entire Wajda oeuvre, The Possessed is based on the notorious novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, first serialised between 1871 and 1872. Focused on a group of young anarchists whose radical politics and actions bind them together in a sinister brotherhood of feverish ideology, the film engages in deep philosophical rumination (even as it employs elements of a thriller). A stellar, highly unusual international cast (including Isabelle Huppert, Lambert Wilson, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, as well as… Omar Sharif and scandalous film director Bertand Blier!) adds a welcome dash of intensity to the film, scripted by the celebrated Jean-Clause Carrière and shot at the very cusp of the Cold War coming to an end.

Fittingly enough, Andrzej Żuławski adapted the same Dostoyevsky novel as 1985’s La Femme publique (The Public Woman), also featured in this series.