It’s a phenomenal move to start the film with Mark (Sam Neill) already driven mad by the claustrophobic suspicion of the Cold War and his role as a functionary of repressive state apparatus. Żuławski only pushes the character further from there, driving Mark deeper and deeper into the psychosis of his toxic masculinity, his reliance on failing heteropatriarchal norms, and his inability to comprehend the sheer force of his wife’s desire. It takes the film to a fever pitch of intensity that very few films are able to match. Isabelle Adjani brings a terrifying intensity to her role and is both wildly unsettling and more attractive than anyone else has ever looked on screen. Disjointed and unnerving and all the more brilliant for it.