Quote:
Originally Posted by jlk5844
I watched Knife in the Water for the first time yesterday, having recorded it on my dvr off of TCM. Polanski hasn't failed me yet. What a great movie this is. The plot is very simple, it's basically just two men and a woman in a boat, not much happens. And yet it is so compelling, my attention was held. The black & white cinematography is gorgeous, as is Jolanta Umecka. It has a quiet and subtle tension, and it hardly erupts into contrived drama. The film has a natural calm about it, like the water they sail on. If I can offer any criticism, I would say though I appreciate the lack of forced dramatic instances to build the masculine tension, I would say for much of the film it really isn't there, it's too subtle for much of it. It's almost to the point where if I had seen this on a whim without knowledge of the plot I might've been a little taken aback by the key climax. I'm sure this minor flaw that I had will wear off the more I watch it. The film does a commendable job with its minimalist approach, telling the story visually and allowing the viewer to fill in the holes and think and determine for themselves the meaning behind some choices. Some might call this minor Polanski given he made Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist (still haven't seen Pianist, very much want to), but at the moment I like Knife in the Water better than those first two. Highly recommended, and now I really want Criterion to upgrade this to Blu-ray as soon as possible. Into the wishlist it goes.
Can anyone comment on the significance of the title? I feel there must be some symbolism to the knife, though it could be an object thrown in to ramp up some slight suspense (I know I thought something violent might come about because of it, but not in the way it happened in the movie).
|
I watched the film for the first time last month, and was also bowled over by it. As far as the significance of the title is concerned, my thought was
[Show spoiler]that just as the knife in the water is probably lost forever, so is the trust between the married couple. At the end of the film, they are in a vehicle that is idling, motionless, just as the sailboat was when the wind died down or the anchor was dropped.
Although I recorded it on to DVD-R, so that I can watch it again, I also want a blu-ray upgrade from Criterion so that I can ponder the bonus features. Intriguing film!