Nóz w wodzie (1962)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Jakub Goldberg (writer)
Roman Polanski (writer)

Release Date:

28 October 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

On their way to a sailing trip, an aging husband and wife invite along an emphatic young hitchhiker out of sheer patronization.

Plot Keywords:

Sail | Knife | Sailing | Hitchhiker | Radio

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Leon Niemczyk	...	Andrzej
Jolanta Umecka	...	Krystyna
Zygmunt Malanowicz	...	Young Boy

Also Known As:

Knife in the Water (USA)
Nóż w wodzie (Poland)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-rating) (2004) | UK:PG (video rating) (1992)

Filming Locations:

Gizycko, Poland

Company:

Zespol Filmowy "Kamera"

Trivia:

The couple's car, seen in the opening and closing sequences, was initially supposed to be a Mercedes, but this was replaced with a Peugeot during filming to avoid political controversy. (The more expensive car was perceived as an icon of Western luxury and decadence). During the shots, a prominent party member arrived at the plan in the newest model of Mercedes. He was invited by the whole crew with peals of laughter.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the young boy is trying to stabilize the Christine by hanging off its side, you can see the railing of the camera boat in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jeszcze nie wieczór (2008)

Polanski's film has artistic integrity...

In Polanski's feature debut, "Knife in the Water," strange power games were again to the fore, with ridiculous macho rivalries arising when a young looking man hitches a lift with a sportswriter and his attractive wife… Though the plot itself is slim, the film is distinguished by Polanski's precise visuals, which point the shifts in allegiance between the three characters through subtle groupings; impressively, although almost the whole film is situated on a small yacht, the effect is always cinematic rather than theatrical…

Polanski's film is implicit, ingenious, mesmerizing, and has artistic integrity… It is filled with a very different sort of suspense… There is no violence… The suspense is hinted at, suggested, refined tautly, glimpsed, did-he-mean-what-I-think-he-meant?

The rich man's confidence was in his possessions, among which was numbered his attractive wife, lying in bikini, teasing by arousing expectations between them on the deck… The student's confidence, casual, almost unaware, was in his very being... The husband resented the youth, the strength, the "cool," the easy virility of the student and worked out a compulsion to keep challenging them, to try to show his superiority…

Polanski was fair – each had his own strengths and skills; but the one obsessively resented the others…