Knife in the Water (film)
Encyclopedia
Knife in the Water is a 1962 Polish drama film
directed by Roman Polański
. It is Polanski's first feature film, featuring three characters in a story of rivalry and sexual tension.
) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) are driving to a lake to go sailing when they come upon a young man (Zygmunt Malanowicz
) hitchhiking in the middle of the road. After nearly hitting him, Andrzej invites the young man to pick his seat and to take a nap while they continue driving. When they arrive at the docks, instead of leaving the young man behind, Andrzej invites him to sail with them for the day. The young man accepts the offer, and, not knowing much about sailing, is forced to learn many hard lessons from Andrzej.
Meanwhile, tension gradually builds between Andrzej and the unnamed hitchhiker as they vie for the attentions of the young wife. The title refers to the major turning point in the film when Andrzej taunts the young man with the latter's treasured pocket knife, which is accidentally lost in the water. A fight ensues between Andrzej and the hitchhiker and the latter falls into the water. The husband and wife search for him, but cannot find him and assume that he has drowned, since earlier he had claimed that he could not swim. Wife and husband quarrel about what to do next about the situation, resulting in the husband fleeing to escape his problem, by jumping off the yacht and swimming to shore. Afterwards, once the young man realizes that the husband has jumped the yacht, he comes out from hiding behind a buoy on the lake, and returns to the yacht where Krystyna is drying off and presumably wondering what action to take next. Before the young man goes on his way they become passionate towards each other. When Krystyna sails into the dock, Andrzej is waiting for her. He wants to go the police to report the young man as missing, but Krystyna tells him that the young man returned, and he is unconvinced even when Krystyna confesses to having been unfaithful with the young man. Andrzej appears confused and the car does not move.
composed the film's music and the featured saxophonist was the Swede Bernt Rosengren
.
and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
at the 1963 Academy Awards
, the first Polish motion picture to receive this kind of recognition. Time
used a still from the film, with Umecka and Malanowicz on the verge of a kiss, as the cover of an issue featuring international cinema. The film has been included in lists of the best debut feature films and was ranked #61 in Empire
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Roman Polański
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
. It is Polanski's first feature film, featuring three characters in a story of rivalry and sexual tension.
Plot
Andrzej (Leon NiemczykLeon Niemczyk
Leon Stanisław Niemczyk was a Polish actor.Niemczyk appeared in over 500 films and television shows over the course of his very long career...
) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) are driving to a lake to go sailing when they come upon a young man (Zygmunt Malanowicz
Zygmunt Malanowicz
Zygmunt Malanowicz is a Polish film actor. He has appeared in 30 films since 1962.-Selected filmography:* Knife in the Water * Naked among Wolves * Hunting Flies * Landscape After the Battle...
) hitchhiking in the middle of the road. After nearly hitting him, Andrzej invites the young man to pick his seat and to take a nap while they continue driving. When they arrive at the docks, instead of leaving the young man behind, Andrzej invites him to sail with them for the day. The young man accepts the offer, and, not knowing much about sailing, is forced to learn many hard lessons from Andrzej.
Meanwhile, tension gradually builds between Andrzej and the unnamed hitchhiker as they vie for the attentions of the young wife. The title refers to the major turning point in the film when Andrzej taunts the young man with the latter's treasured pocket knife, which is accidentally lost in the water. A fight ensues between Andrzej and the hitchhiker and the latter falls into the water. The husband and wife search for him, but cannot find him and assume that he has drowned, since earlier he had claimed that he could not swim. Wife and husband quarrel about what to do next about the situation, resulting in the husband fleeing to escape his problem, by jumping off the yacht and swimming to shore. Afterwards, once the young man realizes that the husband has jumped the yacht, he comes out from hiding behind a buoy on the lake, and returns to the yacht where Krystyna is drying off and presumably wondering what action to take next. Before the young man goes on his way they become passionate towards each other. When Krystyna sails into the dock, Andrzej is waiting for her. He wants to go the police to report the young man as missing, but Krystyna tells him that the young man returned, and he is unconvinced even when Krystyna confesses to having been unfaithful with the young man. Andrzej appears confused and the car does not move.
Cast
- Leon NiemczykLeon NiemczykLeon Stanisław Niemczyk was a Polish actor.Niemczyk appeared in over 500 films and television shows over the course of his very long career...
as Andrzej - Jolanta Umecka as Krystyna
- Zygmunt MalanowiczZygmunt MalanowiczZygmunt Malanowicz is a Polish film actor. He has appeared in 30 films since 1962.-Selected filmography:* Knife in the Water * Naked among Wolves * Hunting Flies * Landscape After the Battle...
as Young Boy
Production
Knife in the Water was shot by Roman Polanski in 1962 using only three actors. It marked Polanski's debut as feature-length director. Two of the actors (Jolanta Umecka, who plays Krystyna and Zygmunt Malanowicz, who plays the young man) had virtually no previous professional acting experience. Krzysztof KomedaKrzysztof Komeda
Krzysztof Komeda was a Polish film music composer and jazz pianist. Perhaps best-known for his work in film scores, Komeda wrote the scores for Roman Polanski’s films Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, Knife in the Water and Cul-de-sac...
composed the film's music and the featured saxophonist was the Swede Bernt Rosengren
Bernt Rosengren
Bernt Rosengren is a Swedish jazz tenor saxophonist. His recordings have earned him five Gyllene Skivan awards in Sweden.-Biography:...
.
Critical reception
Knife in the Water won the Golden Wolf at the 1963 Bucharest Film FestivalBucharest Film Festival
The Bucharest Film Festival is a defunct film festival active between 1948 and 1968 in the city of Bucharest founded by Nicolae Barbu. Originally known as the Bucharest Festival of Socialist Film due to its part funding by the Communist Party, the festival specialized in films of the Eastern Bloc...
and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
at the 1963 Academy Awards
36th Academy Awards
The 36th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963, were held on April 13, 1964 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Jack Lemmon....
, the first Polish motion picture to receive this kind of recognition. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
used a still from the film, with Umecka and Malanowicz on the verge of a kiss, as the cover of an issue featuring international cinema. The film has been included in lists of the best debut feature films and was ranked #61 in Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.
See also
- List of submissions to the 36th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Polish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
External links
- Knife in the Water at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...