Dwaj ludzie z szafa (1958)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writer:

Roman Polanski (scenario)

Release Date:

17 March 1961 (Finland)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Two men come up from the beach carrying a large wardrobe between them. They come up into the town but...

Plot Keywords:

Wardrobe | Absurdism

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Jakub Goldberg	...	Man with the wardrobe
Henryk Kluba	...	Man with the wardrobe (as Henryka Klube)

Also Known As:

Two Men and a Wardrobe

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Gdansk, Poland

Company:

Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Filmowa, Telewizyjna i Teatralna (PWSFTviT)

Trivia:

This film won five international film festival awards in Brussels, San Francisco, and Oberhausen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Michael Blanco (2004)

Two Men and A Wardrobe

This Polanski short, like quite a few of his student pieces, looks something like a silent comedy. I say "looks like" because there aren't really any gags here, but there is no dialogue and there is a jaunty, silly feel. The theme of Two Men and A Wardrobe is simple. The eponymous duo are for some unexplained reason compelled to carry a wardrobe everywhere they go, because of this become social outcasts – thrown out of a restaurant, beaten up by thugs and so on. The abused misfit would crop up throughout Polanski's career, but as far as everything else goes this early work is very un-Polanski. It is bright and breezy, with none of the darkness and confinement with which he is usually associated. It does however introduce his camera style, with long takes and lots of panning.

The silent approach was a sensible one for a cheap student piece – no dialogue to worry about, and a good chance to get to grips with physical acting and purely visual story telling. With the 1950s European setting it reminds me a little of Jacques Tati. As I said though there really is no comedy in Two Men and a Wardrobe, at least, nothing to make you laugh out loud – it's more a case of weird little ideas and attention grabbing shots – also very typical of a young filmmaker looking to make an impact. More substance would be needed for Polanski to move onto full-length features.