Harisu

Possessed is a 2006 Malaysian film that centers on two sisters, Amber and Lisu, who travel to Malaysia from China to pursue their modelling and singing careers. Until one day, Lisu goes missing and Amber falls into a coma. Sent back to China for treatment, Amber wakes up after five months and has no recollection of her past and anyone else. Her boyfriend decides to take her to Malaysia to help regain her memories. Once there, she starts getting nightmares and stumbles upon a photo of her and Lisu. Now determined to search for her, she encounters William who claims himself to be Lisu’s ex-lover. Bizarre things start to happen as Amber starts having visions of her sister and her nightmares become more violent.

A real estate agent is drawn into a torrid - and sadomasochistic - relationship with a morose, stunningly beautiful Japanese photographer. The two cavort in a luxurious apartment owned by an elegant upper-crust Japanese lady, crossing paths with an infatuated policeman, a mysterious Korean woman, and an increasingly tangled web of violence, criss-crossing passions, and lurid, unchecked desires.

All around the world, musicians and rock stars are being elected to their respective countries' highest offices. Paul McCartney is running for Prime Minister of England; Madonna's being tapped as the VP in the United States. The current prime minister and head of the army in Korea are disturbed by this trend, and concoct Emergency Order 19 to deal with the problem: ban all music. The film is famous for the many pop music celebrity cameos it features.

The events that precede and follow, for each of those present in turn, when a young woman is asked for verification of her identity one time too many, in this case when presenting a check at a convenience store. Despite the repetition of the central scene the personal stories and consequences are interestingly varied and unpredictable. The problem for the central character is that her country allows her no usable identity following her change of sex. This was true for the lead actress, South Korea's most famed woman of transsexual history, Ha Ri-su, but that is about as far as the plot bears any resemblance to her actual life. Since the film was released the actress became, by a landmark court case, the first in her country to to be allowed proper recognition and papers. There are of course many other countries which still impose the same difficulties on similar young women.