Rent Knife in the Water (1962)

Polish Arthouse. - Knife in the Water review by Steve

This hugely impressive debut from Roman Polanski is his only film made in his native Poland until The Pianist, 40 years later. It announced his exceptional gift for visual narrative and won him an instant Oscar nomination for best foreign language film. Though the dialogue is sparse.

There is an early example of a key Polanski theme; the shifting of power within a small group. This is a three-hander with a young, rootless hitch-hiker joining a married couple on a sailing trip, scored by an improvised saxophone. Which gives the picture a blue note of melancholy.

And gradually an ominous strain of menace is introduced into the dynamic, especially as the wife is an attractive younger woman suffocating in a loveless marriage. Much of the action gravitates around the outsider’s threatening blade. Which is presumably phallic. And a theatrical example of Chekhov’s gun…

This all threatens to become a suspense thriller, but doesn’t quite happen. It’s a very cinematic examination of a disintegrating marriage and a reflection on the alienation of a younger generation. The performances are fair and the b&w photography is expressive. But mainly this is a showreel for its talented director.