Fall 2024—Wednesday, October 30, 7:30 p.m.
Knife in the Water
Nóż w wodzie
1962, 94 minutes
Directed by: Roman Polański
Written by: Roman Polański, Jerzy Skolimowski, and Jakub Goldberg
Music by: Krzysztof Komeda
Principal cast: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz
Description
Roman Polanski’s first feature is a brilliant psychological thriller that many critics still consider among his greatest work. It is a film that created turmoil in communist Poland, angered First Secretary Władysław Gomułka, and launched the international career of Roman Polański.
A journalist takes his much younger wife on a boat trip in the Masurian Lake District. A young hitchhiker stops them on the way, which nearly results in a car crash. The journalist decides to take him along on a trip in his luxurious yacht. While on board, the men start competing for the woman’s attention, and the antagonism between them grows. A violent confrontation is inevitable.