There is nothing more thrilling than discovering a natural filmmaker for the first time. There are only so many, and you can only have menarche once. Its an introduction into another life.

 

I first saw this in 1965 at the Orson Welles Cinema near Harvard Square. We were told it was made behind the backs of Iron Curtain thugs, only surviving because of international attention. (I wouldn't meet Tarkovsky or Kieslowski until later.) And that it was made by the fellow who had made the striking "Repulsion," which at that time was anticipated but yet unseen in the States.

 

I've since learned some striking things: that both Polanski and his co-writer wanted to play the hitchhiker and indeed it is Polanski's voice. And that the mistress who seems only half alive was in fact played by a non-actress they found by looking at swimming pools. Also that the situation was suggested by a long planned and discussed Orson Welles project ("The Deep") that was started after this and never completed. 

 

The writing is good of course, especially the central image the title denotes, but the camera finds the perfect place always. It is like Altman's camera (after this) that discovers the action rather than, say Spielberg's where the action is obviously happening in such a way to be cleanly seen by the camera. And so much harder on a boat!

 

But the interesting thing about such an introduction to a filmmaker is the relationship that follows: we know certain things about how he thinks and sees. We expect the conversation to continue and mature over the years. And what a rocky ride this man has taken us on, through perfectly created worlds (in which I include "Ninth Gate") but also through pure dreck and rank sentimentality (both of which tag "The Pianist").

 

Sometimes he's internal to the narrative, even the charmed actor. Sometimes he is outside the narrative, pulling strings (as with this film) but sometimes it is clear he never got out of bed.As with Kubrick and so many others, you really must start at the beginning, which essentially means here.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

 

 

 

Roman Polanski created a landmark film with Knife in the Water. It perhaps even trumps his most famous film, Chinatown. A man and his wife (or is it his mistress?) pick up a hitchhiker. For reasons that are obscure for most of the film, the man asks the hitchhiker if he would like to come along on their sailing trip. They plan to sail until the next dawn. It feels like it'll be a run-of-the-mill thriller,but it's much smarter than that Really, it's a tale about male posturing and it may be the best film on that subject. The three actors are excellent Polanski's direction is flawless. The jazz score is wonderful, as well. One of the best ever made. 10/10.

 

 

 

Well, this film may not appeal to the legions of folk who consider drivel like The Sixth Sense to be great drama/thriller material, but to those of us who adore movies and respect the great ones, this one is a gem.

 

This great-granddad to later works like "Dead Calm" or even "The Talented Mr. Ripley" manages to deliver the goods on this wickedly smart little tale about a young middle class couple who pick up a hitchhiker who manages to turn their life around in the course of one day. 

 

What sets this film apart from others is it's place in movie history and it's polished (no pun intended) directorial style.This early hit by future great director Roman Polanski manages to make you believe in these three people without questioning the typically silly things that people do in thrillers. Of course most of us would not invite a strange hitchhiker onto their private boat for an evening, especially when the hitchhiker carries with them a huge hunting knife and an attitude. 

 

Just throw your disbelief to the wind, and sit back and enjoy this little gem. I loved the juxtaposition of the vast open air and beautiful water vistas with the claustrophobic atmosphere aboard the little "yacht". The terrific moment when the couple dares the young man to hang over the edge of the boat and he begins to "run" on water alongside. Even the inevitable seduction rings true due to the circumstances. I won't reveal anymore scenes. 

 

This film is to be enjoyed by all! The only complaint is while I saw this film at the normally wonderful Film Forum in NYC, the grossly outdated and shabby looking subtitles positively cry 

out for a restoration!!

 

 

 

Knife in the Water is the kind of film that works beautifully at making so much out of seemingly so little. A little tale of a couple who ask a hitch-hiker they pick up to come along with them for a sail on the lakes is all the story there is. But within that story are little bits that keep the story pumping, alive. There's also a style that lends itself to a kind of film-making that was just budding with the new-wave movements of the 60's. 

 

Roman Polanski, who co-wrote and directed the film (as well giving an entire voice-over to the hitch-hiker), is careful in reeling in the emotions out of little dialog, and is also granted two tremendous assets aside from the actors: 1) Jerzy Lipman's crisp, free-flowing, and usually tight (to get the tenseness of the three characters) b/w photography draws one in by it's deep focus and sometimes documentary feel. 

 

2) Krzysztof Komeda's jazz soundtrack. Polanski uses the riffs of the soft, easy-going side of the weekend-out; the up-beat pacing when a humorous situation occurs when the hitch-hiker loses control of the boat; the variations that sometimes occur with the simple shots of a boat sailing fast and slow across the water. Komeda's score for the film is among one of the better ones I've ever heard, in regards to it being a great work on it's own, and to corresponding to the film (he would later provide the memorable theme to Polanski's Rosemary's Baby). 

 

The acting itself is interesting in what is not said between them, what has to be said by their expressions. The fact that the three have distinct personalities adds to the tenseness- it would've been more conventional if the hitch-hiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz) wanted to come on and stay,but Andzrej (Leon Miemczyk) is the more insistent one.Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka), meanwhile, never says more than the other two, but is perhaps smarter as well. One thing that definitely shows the film breaking away from the attitudes of the 50's in the emphasis on the sexual tension, and the actors convey that very well when called upon - adding to this, Umecka is a total, natural knock-out, if not entirely in performance (though the quiet, inward quality is when she's at her best). 

 

Simply, Knife in the Water is an observant, amusing, eye-widening experience, and it ranks as one of the premiere debuts of cinema. A+(11/10)