1996. Poland/France/Switzerland
Alternative title: Chamanka
Andrzej Zulawski’s Szamanka is an explosive return to the hyper-intense emotionalism of Possession, aided in no small part by the primal performance of 18-year-old first-time actress Iwona Petry.
Petry plays a character known only as ‘The Italian’ who embarks on a violently sexual relationship with an anthropology professor named Michael (Polish superstar Boguslaw Linda) who abuses and humiliates her, only feeding her increasing sexual obsession with him.
As she acts with abandon – flailing, spitting, regurgitating food – she disavows the commonality of language in favour of physical expression (like Anna in Possession).
When Michael’s anthropological team discovers the bog-body of an ancient shaman in a nearby construction site, he begins to formulate a connection between the respective mysteries of the shaman and The Italian – believing that The Italian is a succubus depleting his life-force.
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