Knife in the Water (film)
| Knife in the Water | |
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Original Polish poster
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| Directed by | Roman Polanski |
| Produced by | Stanislaw Zylewicz |
| Written by |
Jerzy Skolimowski Roman Polanski Jakub Goldberg |
| Starring |
Leon Niemczyk Jolanta Umecka Zygmunt Malanowicz Roman Polanski (voice) Anna Ciepielewska (voice) |
| Music by | Krzysztof T. Komeda |
| Cinematography | Jerzy Lipman |
| Edited by | Halina Prugar-Ketling |
| Distributed by | Zespol Filmowy |
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Release date
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Running time
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94 minutes |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
Knife in the Water (Polish: ''Nóż w wodzie'') is a 1962 Polish drama film co-written and directed by Roman Polański, which was nominated for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Polanski's first feature film, it features three characters in a story of rivalry and sexual tension.
Knife in the Water has garnered acclaim from film critics since its release, and is one of Polanski's best-reviewed works.
Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) 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 along. When they arrive at the lake, instead of leaving the young man behind, Andrzej invites him to go sailing with them. The young man accepts the offer, and, not knowing much about sailing, must learn many hard lessons from Andrzej.
Meanwhile, tension gradually builds between Andrzej and the hitchhiker as they vie for the attentions of Krystyna. 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 overboard. A fight ensues between Andrzej and the hitchhiker and the latter falls into the water. Andrzej and his wife search for him, but cannot find him and assume that he has drowned, since earlier he said that he could not swim. Andrzej and his wife quarrel about what to do, and Andrzej swims to shore to fetch the police. When the young man realizes that Andrzej has gone he comes out from hiding behind a buoy on the lake and swims to the yacht. There he sees Krystyna naked drying off. He boards the yacht and Krystyna tells him he is as bad as Andrzej but sexual attraction wins out and they have sex, off screen. Krystyna sails back to the dock, the man jumps off and goes on his way before Andrzej appears and takes charge again. He wants to go to the police to report the young man missing. Krystyna tells him that the young man returned and she was unfaithful. Andrzej does not know what to believe and at the road junction the car does not move.
Knife in the Water was shot by Roman Polanski in 1962 using only three actors. It marked Polanski's debut as a 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 Komeda composed the film's music and the featured saxophonist was Bernt Rosengren.
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