A Criterion Collection disk, this seems to be a restored version. It's extremely good looking with beautiful contrast & lighting in an interesting location- the Polish Lake district Masuria according to Polanski in the intro. Only the occasional treeline back ground illustrates they are not on a vast ocean. Polanski had a tight budget since he just graduated from film school, so primarily set on a boat with only 3 actors was a clever way to keep costs down.
It's an odd tale of a couple that pick up a young hitchhiker and take him along on their day off, sailing the lakes. There's a power play between the two men, the mature, established man relentlessly challenging the young drifter. The woman (who I found absolutely stunning) stays out of it and just goes about her tasks, fixing lunch, steering or relaxing with a swim. Not much seems to happen, but I'm sure with subsequent viewings, I'll see the symbolism in all of it-this time I was just following the basic story.
The last half hour of this taught 96 minute film is rather exciting and worth the wait, after all the "smooth sailing".
I don't want to reveal any of the plot, it would ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen this. But you need to know it's there....just wait for it. I don't know if Knife In The Water struck me as one of the "great" films, it suffers a bit from what I call the "Pretentious 60's Art Film" syndrome. But it definitely is a strong film with a great, somewhat quiet, story very well told. The cinematography is a standout. Very clever camera angles that illustrate the isolation, yet crowding of these 3 passengers on a sailboat. (you often wonder where the film crew are)
It's an odd tale of a couple that pick up a young hitchhiker and take him along on their day off, sailing the lakes. There's a power play between the two men, the mature, established man relentlessly challenging the young drifter. The woman (who I found absolutely stunning) stays out of it and just goes about her tasks, fixing lunch, steering or relaxing with a swim. Not much seems to happen, but I'm sure with subsequent viewings, I'll see the symbolism in all of it-this time I was just following the basic story.
The last half hour of this taught 96 minute film is rather exciting and worth the wait, after all the "smooth sailing".
I don't want to reveal any of the plot, it would ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen this. But you need to know it's there....just wait for it. I don't know if Knife In The Water struck me as one of the "great" films, it suffers a bit from what I call the "Pretentious 60's Art Film" syndrome. But it definitely is a strong film with a great, somewhat quiet, story very well told. The cinematography is a standout. Very clever camera angles that illustrate the isolation, yet crowding of these 3 passengers on a sailboat. (you often wonder where the film crew are)