Knife in the Water

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Horrorphile - February 2009

Nóz w Wodzie (Knife in the Water)

February 18th 2009 00:58

Roman Polanski’s debut feature (and the only one he made in his native tongue), Knife in the Water (1962), is a brilliantly constructed thriller; a psychological ménage-a-trois where the sexual tension swings like the volatile boom on a yacht, and the power-play between the two men becomes an obstacle course as they fight for pole position, whilst the woman dangles the checkered flag like a carrot in front of a pair of donkeys.

40-something Andrzej (Leon Niemczuk) and his younger wife Krystyna (Jolanta Umencka) are bickering as they drive to a marina. Fate intervenes as a young hitchhiker - who is never named - (Zygmunt Malanowicz) blocks the road, and the couple end up giving him a lift. He coolly charms his way onto their yacht and the attraction and competition between wife, stranger, and husband begins to play out.

Knife in the Water Zygmunt Malanowicz, Jolanta Umecka, Leon Niemczyk

Zygmunt Malanowicz as the hitch hiker, Jolanta Umecka as Krystyna and Leon Niemcyzk as Andrzej

Polanski and Jakub Goldberg are credited with the story and Jerzy Skolimowksi as screenwriter, but all three developed the script. Apparently it was suggested from an Orson Welles project – The Deep – that was never completed. The finished movie captures perfectly all the ingredients and elements that have come to define Polanksi’s career as a filmmaker; its pared-back, yet complex narrative and vivid visual style, evocative atmosphere and a delicate, yet robust juxtaposition of character.

The young man soaks up the rays in Christ-like pose

Curiously Polanski chose in post-production to dub both Umencka and Malanowicz with other voices, Polanski himself performing the dialogue of the blond young man. Umencka was an unprofessional whom Polanski had met at a swimming pool, and although her performance seems stiff and unresponsive, it fits perfectly with the machinations of her character (better still is the trajectory of her appearance over the course of the movie). Malanowicz was relatively new to acting, whereas Niemczuk was the seasoned thespian. Malanowicz may not have the face of a “19-year-old”, but his behaviour and intent is definitely that of a petulant adolescent.

Knife in the Water Jolanta Umecka and Zygmunt Malanowicz

Krystyna's evolving appearance does not go by unnoticed

The dynamics of the environment (the yacht’s deck and cabin), the physicality of the action (manning the yacht, climbing the mast, swimming, pulling the yacht through long reeds, toying with the knife, playing fiddlesticks), and the psychological game-playing that shifts between the obvious and the subtle are the crucial elements that make Knife in the Water such a superb movie. This is the economy of cinema at work at the highest level. It’s not surprising the movie was nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards and BAFTA Awards.

Knife in the Water Leon Niemcyzk and Zygmunt Malanowicz

The young man proves his prowess with a knife

The black and white cinematography from Jerzzy Lipman is stunning (even though it’s only in standard ratio), especially since it was a nightmare to shoot on the water (it always is), and Polanski strived for compositional perfection. Curiously, and fascinating to note, you can pause every five seconds on most Polanski movies (especially the early ones) and the still is good enough to frame. Polanski’s innate ability to capture the essence of a scene within the context of the mise-en-scene is a skill only a handful of directors are able to command. Polanski’s entire cinema oeuvre reflects a desire to harness the elusive quality that is human frailty and the darkness that dances beneath the surface.

Knife in the Water Leon Niemcyzk, Jolanta Umecka, and Zygmunt Malanowicz

Two's company, three's a crowd

Knife in the Water has the veneer of adventure; sunshine bouncing off ocean-wet skin, yet there are hidden agendas brooding below deck, muscles flexing as the sun slinks behind a darkening cloud. The young man’s switchblade knife becomes a key prop. The talk of a knife in the water as a metaphor for an element that tries to pry something apart, yet despite its sharp edge it doesn’t cut in the way it wants. The husband and young man play games with the knife; stabbing the blade between the fingers on the deck and throwing it like a dart inside the cabin. Eventually it comes between them, both figuratively and literally.

Man overboard reveals the boy behind the buoy

Dialogue is kept to a minimum, for it is the visual narrative, and the ambiguity of motive, which drives the movie, and like the yacht’s drifting and sailing, like the ebb and flow of the tide, the film surely and steadily moves toward its narrative climax (with a second literal climax occurring off-screen). For an early-60s Eastern European film it’s curious to note the flashes of nipple on-screen, certainly Hollywood wouldn’t have been so revealing (they wanted Polanski to remake it in America but he refused to repeat himself).

Knife in the Water Zygmunt Malanowicz and Jolanta Umecka

Dead Calm owes a lot to Polanski

Knife in the Water is one of Polanski’s best movies, which is high praise as the calibre of his filmography is very strong indeed. He is easily one of my favourite directors; his “nightmare” movies rank as some of the most potent experiences in cinema, full of atmosphere and texture, subtlety and nuance.

Publicity still

Knife in the Water Roman Polanski and Jolanta Umecka

Polanksi giving Jolanta direction

I couldn't find the original trailer, so here's an extended clip featuring the classic and very dangerous knife play sequence:

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

9 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Cibbuano

February 18th 2009 01:46

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

woo - this looks fantastic. I've seen too few of Polanski's films, unfortunately, but "Knife in the Water" just went to the top of the list...

Comment by Bryn

February 18th 2009 02:05

Horrorphile

Cibby, yeah, Polanski rocks big time! I've just finished one fascinating book of interviews with him dating back to the early 60s and am currently reading a brilliantly written pictorial biography. I've seen almost every Polanski film at least once, but am keen to re-immerse myself. Stay tuned.

Comment by Damo

February 18th 2009 03:00

Certainly I can see how this influenced Dead Calm.
Polanski had a talent for playing with tension and implied dangers. Seems a shame that Hollywood lost him.

Comment by Bryn

February 18th 2009 04:58

Horrorphile

Damo,
I'm kinda glad Hollywood lost him. If he'd stayed making their kinds of movies I think his vision would've been steadily compromised.

Comment by David O'Connell

February 18th 2009 09:19

Screen Fanatic

Very nice review Bryn, a claustrophobic early classic from Polanski.

Cibby, I'd check out Repulsion and The Tenant ahead of this however if you haven't seen them.

Comment by Jason King

February 18th 2009 19:02

Sydney Table
Salty Popcorn
Total Randomness

Will definately keep my eye out for this one. Dead Calm is one of my fave Oz flicks and this looks very similar. The black and white would make it something beautiful to look at also. Cool review!

Comment by Bryn

February 19th 2009 03:29

Horrorphile

David,
There are few Polanksi films I don't like. I wasn't a fan of Death and the Maiden, but then I've never been a huge fan of Sigourney (apart from the Alien movies), and at the time wasn't much of a fan of Ben Kingsley either.
I've not seen What?, Tess, Pirates or Oliver Twist.
My three faves of his would be Cul-de-Sac, The Tenant, and possibly Knife in the Water or maybe Macbeth. Or maybe even The Ninth Gate. I plan to review those in coming weeks.

Jason, as good as Dead Calm is, it steals much of its basic elements from Knife in the Water.

Comment by BobB

February 20th 2009 07:20

FILMENATOR
EveryPictureTellsaStory

I saw this movie at the cinema years ago and I thought it was pretty great but I have been straining to remember what actually happened. I may have been smoking drugs at the time. You've jogged my memory with your top review. Roman Polanski is an unequalled master.

Comment by Bryn

February 20th 2009 07:58

Horrorphile

BobB,

Roman Polanski is an unequalled master.

... word.

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