7/28/2019 P.O.V. - Knife in the Water - Film Notes
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N w wodzie (Knife In The Water, 1962)Directed by Roman
Polanski
Follow the knife.
Roman Polanski's feature debut, Knife In The Water (1962) is a
lm wherein man's most baseemotions lurk just below the surface. A
thrill-seeking couple, out for a weekend pleasure cruiseaboard
their ship, puts their ailing marriage to the test when they
pick-up a knife-totinghitchhiker. As things aboard the ship get
heated, the husband and hitchhiker duel for the wife'saffections.
Using the archetypes of the sultry wife, the jealous husband, and
the rival lover,Polanski probes deeply into the complexity of
interpersonal relationships. On a boat big enoughfor only two, the
trio sails out to sea, the blackened water on which they oat cold,
dark, andforeboding.
But the characters' journey is more psychological than it is
nautical. While most lms arepropelled forward by their plots, Knife
In The Water moves more mysteriously. Throughinnuendo, accusation,
and intimidation Polanski proves adept at crafting a
psychologically richtext where the characters' every gesture, every
glance, every word takes on an addedsignicance. Relationships are
murky, allegiances in ux, and power is fought for and won onlyto,
in mere seconds, be lost again. Equally telling is the journey of
the knife itself. Throughoutthe lm the weapon gains greater and
greater narrative value as it passes back and forthbetween the men.
With each exchange the sharp blade symbolizes virility, brutality,
lust, andskill.
The rst lm of his now storied (infamous) career, Knife In The
Wateralready shows glimpses of
the visual air that Polanski would later make world famous in
his subsequent lms Repulsion(1965), Chinatown (1974), and Tess
(1979). Watch how the blocking and image size of actorswithin the
frame (de)emphasizes power dynamics and foreshadows the looming
confrontation.At his measured pace, Polanski keeps us moving.
Things are never what they seem. Beneath thesurface an ominous
current ows, threatening to capsize the boat at a moment's notice.
Willthe wife remain faithful? Will the husband keep his cool? Will
the hitchhiker use his knife?These questions deserve answers, but
as the screen fades to black one cannot help but wonder ifPolanski
hints at a world of nightmares wherein certain confessions are
better left unspokenB.P.
Runtime: 94mins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO0niGPR5S4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FueLhmwT8E4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF77gX8rjV0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO0niGPR5S4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FueLhmwT8E4http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WF77gX8rjV0
7/28/2019 P.O.V. - Knife in the Water - Film Notes
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SEE ALSO:
Lifeboat(1944)Journey To Italy(1954)L'Avventura(1960)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(1966)
Chinatown (1974)Scenes from a Marriage(1973)Roman Polanski:
Wanted And Desired(2010)
SUPPLEMENTALS:
Roman Polanski Interview
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