28th
Possessed is an exquisite short film about hoarding by Martin Hampton. It is divided into four sections, entitled “Control,” “Submission,” “Stasis” and “Abandon.” Each part is narrated by a hoarder, who moves about and describes his or her living space. Two things I think are particularly interesting about the film:
1) It captures the diversity of hoarding by allowing each hoarder to describe the unique constellation of issues that distinguish his or her problem. It’s remarkable how the themes of control, submission, stasis and abandon come through so strongly, and how the same compulsion is propelled by such divergent issues.
2) The combination of stillness and movement that characterizes cinema itself dialogues beautifully with the theme of the documentary, as the camera captures movements like floating specks of dust, or the self-conscious shuffling of a hoarder searching for something, and contrasts them with the overwhelming stillness of the clutter. Some of the most useless objects become visually arresting, like a pile of cotton rounds used for eye-makeup removal, which seems like a smokey igloo as the camera moves along its contours.
