Knife in
the Water
a film by Roman Polanski released through Film Polski in 1962
A film
shocking in its quiet horrors, Knife In
The Water stands as one of the greatest achievements in Polish cinema. It was Roman Polanski's only Film Polski
feature. Much like Chopin, he left his
native land but always maintained the Polish spirit through his art.
We begin with a man and a woman
driving down a quiet stretch of country highway. They are well acquainted with each other but
seem strangely distant. Soon we learn
they are married. They pick up a
hitchhiker, a young, strapping man barely into his twenties, but his background
is as opaque as his intentions. He is
never asked to share his name. A subtle
rivalry develops between the older man, Andrew, and the young man. The latter accepts a taunting invitation to
join the pair on their small yacht. So
begins a series of escalating challenges between older and younger, wealthy and
indigent. Christina's impassiveness
wanes as matters escalate. Eventually,
the three weather a storm below, where the unknown man's knife emerges as a
potent symbol, expressing the threat of violence and symbolizing masculine
sexuality. The rivalry by this point has
drawn in Christina, so that a sexual triangle has formed. At first light a fight breaks out, the young
man goes overboard, is suspected drowned, and Andrew swims to shore. But the enigmatic stranger emerges from the
waters and seduces Christina. In the end
we leave Andrew and Christina at a literal crossroads as the husband wrestles
with the consequences of reporting this apparent death to the police. We're left with the sad knowledge that their
marriage will continue as a heartless charade or will finally, pitifully,
die.
So, what would have happened if the
hitchhiker had never been picked up, or if he had never been invited on
board? Why did all this happen? One possible explanation is Andrew's twisted
ideas about his relationship with his wife.
Obviously the two aren't communicative or loving (at the beginning of
the film, she responds to his passionate kiss on her back with stoic
indifference). Things have been
disintegrating for some time. The
hitchhiker is Andrew's means of expressing his superiority, of proving to his
wife that he is still man enough for her, that all other men pale in comparison
to him. Allowing his competition to be
such a young, healthy, handsome man seems foolhardy, but it is merely an expression
of Andrew's overwhelming sense of self-superiority. He may not want to really win his wife's
renewed love, but he does want to prove that he is deserving of her, to
reassert his possession.
When Andrew almost runs over the
vagabond, he calls him an "asshole" and slams his car door rudely. The sky is very gray, a thunderhead looming
ominously. Christina and the drifter
exchange a look, with Christina reluctantly diverting her eyes. The camera is situated from the perspective
of Christina, more or less, looking over to Andrew. Here he may see the loafer staring at his
wife, but we can't be certain. The
cutting here is slow, just as it is throughout the movie, evoking the static
nature of the lake. (Mise-en-scene is
far more important is Polanski's shot selection.) Andrew turns to Christina and looks just past
the lens. We cut to Christina smoking
her cigarette and looking out the windshield, apparently at the hitchhiker,
paying no heed to what her husband is telling her. Her visage conveys a palpable disdain for her
husband and a hungry curiosity to know more about this "puppy",
"child", "boy" (he's given a lot of dismissive
titles). As Andrew realizes that she
would have picked him up had she still been driving, he sarcastically does an
about face, now welcoming the mysterious man to join them. Here is clearly established the concept that
Andrew takes on the hitchhiker out of jealousy.
But he never intended to bring him
aboard the boat. Before long, the trio
have arrived at the marina. In a
two-shot sequence at the docks, Christina takes the bag handed her by the
stranger, he exits the car, helps her with the luggage in the trunk. He catches a duffel bag she drops, and, their
faces momentarily close, he asks "Where to?" to which she replies
(depending on the translation) "Come" or "This way". She could have just asked him to drop it, and
Andrew would have carried it to the boat, but she invites him to go out on to
the docks. During this exchange Andrew
is not visible. He is on the other side
of the car preparing to change his clothes.
The opened trunk blocks Christina and the stranger from Andrew, shutting
him out as their body language and furtive glances reveal more than their few
words. She brusquely asks for the keys,
and so the two of them begin walking down the dock, away from Andrew. If he is surprised by this, he is way too
macho to let on. We cut on movement,
Andrew turning from facing the car, to facing the docks, as he removes his tie. He watches the pair intently. The back of his head fills the right-most side
of the screen as his wife and the stranger walk right to left down the docks,
gradually balancing the composition of the shot. We can't see Andrew's face, but his movements
seem strangely jerky. He seems to tear
at his clothes, watching the two proceed in silent procession. The overall effect is one of silent
menace.
Later in the film, as the three are
forced below by a storm, one of the most important sequences in the narrative
occurs. As the three change out of their
wet clothes, the camera finally settles on a shot demonstrating the best in
depth-of-field photography. Enclosed in
a tight space, we see Andrew on the left, and the stranger on the right. Christina is changing her clothes between
them, in the background. This symbolizes
that she is between the two men emotionally.
She says "Don't look."
But the way she says it conveys something different. She stands in profile, where she could have
situated her back to them (the most sensible way to maintain modesty). Andrew sees the stranger, chasing a fly,
dwelling on her half-clothed figure.
Andrew shoots him a dirty look, and so begins their most protracted
round of competition. They challenge
each other in a race to inflate mattresses, then enter into a strange game of
strip-pick-up sticks with Christina. As
the stranger begins to prove his ineptness at this contest, he throws his
knife, and we cut hard to the knife as it enters the wall. The pair exchange throws. They also compete over killing the fly, still
exchanging subtle barbs and verbal jabs.
All the while Christina sits between them, the camera angles changing
slightly, except for the knife throwing, when her back is to the camera and
they turn to face the opposite wall. As
the hitchhiker's knife symbolizes sex and power in the film, this contest is
the most visually potent of all that have passed before. With the object of sexual desire between
them, the restrained anger of the knife throwing symbolizing violence is a
perfect setup for the final scenes to follow the next morning.
After the drifter is found
slumbering, Christina asks her husband why he brought him on the boat. He doesn't answer. He can't, because he can't reveal his fears
to her, and that is, ultimately, why the film ends at a crossroads. He brought him on board to strengthen the
marriage, but in a sad twist of irony, left it irreparably damaged.
Knife
in the Water is a film rich in characterization and detail. Though it is strongly dialogue-driven, the
fact that it is in Polish re-directs the attention of an American audience to
its visual cues. Polanski sets a mood of
isolation and gloom-ridden threat, with characters confined in a small space,
but each still feeling alone. Like the
boat, itself, they are all adrift.
It is an assured work, a minor
masterpiece.