Knife in the WaterPrimal instincts of masculinity can drive men to antisocial behaviors, residual shades of the prepubescence of civilization, like exerting dominance to impress a mate. Knife in the Water is a minimalist thriller about a married couple--Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka)--en route to a weekend vacation of boating--when they pick up a young hitchhiker (Zygmunt Malanowicz) whom Andrzej nearly ran over. After an early round of subtle provocations and the hints of a game of egos, Andrzej invites the unnamed young man to come with them on their boat, and the battle of wills begins to escalate.
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Knife in the Water was the first feature film of one of the masters of paranoid, psychological thrillers, Roman Polanski, who would later make masterpieces in the same vein such as Chinatown and Rosemary's Baby. Knife in the Water showcases many of the filmmaker's familiar themes, like the intimation of primal emotions lurking beneath the veneer of civility, although in the case of Andrzej, that patina is thin indeed. Andrzej nearly provokes a fight with the boy from the moment he first steps out of his automobile, which the boy smartly diffuses by indicating his car's headlights are on. Andrzej is presented as a man who is accustomed to exerting his dominance over others to get his way. From the somewhat terse exchanges with Krystyna, his unheard insistence that he drive, and other moment, it is clear that he is a bully. The young man is enigmatic--cool like James Dean--but also subtly clever and could be perceived as manipulating events to an extent, to provoke Andrzej into inviting him along on their boating trip by presenting himself as a sort of challenge to the older man. And Andrzej does invite the man aboard, citing their initial banter as a "game", looking to impress himself as the superior male in a bigger display for his woman by making him an example. There are only three people in the entire film, and our focus is confined to the claustrophobic arena of the small boat, where the intimacy of it provokes more extreme reactions and emotions. Knife in the Water is a very natural movie; reactions are convincing given the dynamic of the trio, and subtle details hint at the values of these characters. Andrzej, as the bully, tries to control and dictate the responses of his fellow shipmates. His selfishness and sense of entitlement can be felt in minute ways, like how he always pours himself a little more alcohol than the other two. Krystyna quietly remains neutral on the whole, until Andrzej finally pushes to far, at which point she seeks her own kind of quiet version of balancing the scales, a private retribution. The young man tries to match his bravado to that of provocateur, playing it cool at times, or impassioned at others; at times , he is indignant and snide, and others almost cherubic in his innocence. Occasionally, he lets himself get baited by Andrzej into doing things like trying to steer the ship, knowing that by doing so, he will impress upon Krystyna just how much of a blowhard her beau really is. He is also astutely sharp at planting the seed for future events, such as when he whistles a melody, which prompts Krystyna to hum a tune he later asks her to sing, a song about a relationship gone sour. Whether he does this solely out of amusement or if it is a passive-aggressive response to Andrzej's bullying is ambiguous, but satisfying all the same.
Andrzej and the boy are essentially involved in a kind of primitive ritual, exerting dominance over one another, an ancestral calling for each man to prove he is the better mate for Krystyna, though the boy makes no overt intentions toward her. The near crash at the start kick-starts this instinctive expression, Andrzej's blood already running hot. It's less that Andrzej and the boy dislike one another but that deep down, their hormones compel them to seek Krystyna for a mate. The most overt visual element emphasizing this testosterone-born conflict comes when the boy first produces his knife on the boat. It is done to show off, to look well-prepared and even "cool" for his new companions. It is a knife which is a little big for a pocket on the whole, but the emphasis is that it is really a phallic symbol. He produces the knife to help Krystyna cut some radishes he brought, and does so with an easy flick which, from the angle of the camera, is closer aligned with his pelvis. It is an action which subtly impresses Krystyna and annoys Andrzej, a moment where the male posturing between them is neatly defined in this metaphor. Along with the knife, the ship's mast is also one, which both men battle around and even manipulate to show off their talents. Even when the boy is laying languid on the deck, he sticks one finger in the air, measuring it against the size of the mast in his eyes. Superficially, Krystyna seems indifferent to the bickering, but there is a sense about her that she appreciates the efforts by the men to show off for her benefit, even if on just an instinctive level, justifying her actions near the end of the film. The sense of civilized identity which Andrzej and Krystyna have crafted for themselves is shown to be an illusion, a mask worn by them to hide from the icky and barely controllable impulses radiating from their inner being. This is why when we first see them during the opening credits through the window, their faces are obscured, as though their sense of identity is irrelevant when it comes to the deeper urges which compel them.
Recommended for: Fans of a metaphor-laden thriller and intimate drama about civility disintegrating when primal instincts take over where cooler heads have failed. Knife in the Water is also shows the roots of Roman Polanski and the familiar themes in his body of work to follow.
Andrzej and the boy are essentially involved in a kind of primitive ritual, exerting dominance over one another, an ancestral calling for each man to prove he is the better mate for Krystyna, though the boy makes no overt intentions toward her. The near crash at the start kick-starts this instinctive expression, Andrzej's blood already running hot. It's less that Andrzej and the boy dislike one another but that deep down, their hormones compel them to seek Krystyna for a mate. The most overt visual element emphasizing this testosterone-born conflict comes when the boy first produces his knife on the boat. It is done to show off, to look well-prepared and even "cool" for his new companions. It is a knife which is a little big for a pocket on the whole, but the emphasis is that it is really a phallic symbol. He produces the knife to help Krystyna cut some radishes he brought, and does so with an easy flick which, from the angle of the camera, is closer aligned with his pelvis. It is an action which subtly impresses Krystyna and annoys Andrzej, a moment where the male posturing between them is neatly defined in this metaphor. Along with the knife, the ship's mast is also one, which both men battle around and even manipulate to show off their talents. Even when the boy is laying languid on the deck, he sticks one finger in the air, measuring it against the size of the mast in his eyes. Superficially, Krystyna seems indifferent to the bickering, but there is a sense about her that she appreciates the efforts by the men to show off for her benefit, even if on just an instinctive level, justifying her actions near the end of the film. The sense of civilized identity which Andrzej and Krystyna have crafted for themselves is shown to be an illusion, a mask worn by them to hide from the icky and barely controllable impulses radiating from their inner being. This is why when we first see them during the opening credits through the window, their faces are obscured, as though their sense of identity is irrelevant when it comes to the deeper urges which compel them.
Recommended for: Fans of a metaphor-laden thriller and intimate drama about civility disintegrating when primal instincts take over where cooler heads have failed. Knife in the Water is also shows the roots of Roman Polanski and the familiar themes in his body of work to follow.