Knife in the Water (Nóż w wodzie / Nůž ve vodě)

Roman Polanski’s cult debut and the first film in the history of Polish cinema to be nominated for an Oscar. As the film did not meet the requirements of the socialist production program, it caused a scandal at the state level, which resulted in the director emigrating from the country. Polanski recalled in an interview that he wanted his first feature film to be cold, calculated, meticulously constructed, almost formalistic. It was to resemble a classic thriller. The main theme is a summer adventure, which makes the heroes forget the mundanity of everyday life. A pompous journalist turns into a hardened sailor who invites a rebellious vagabond onto his ship. The unity of time and place of the plot supports a tangle of unexpected events. Against the backdrop of the monotonous landscape of the Masurian lakes, we watch a game of male antagonisms, underlined by the ironic gaze of a charming woman.

Iwona Łyko-Plos

screening with dual subtitles (English and Czech)