KNIFE IN THE WATER (1962)

In this Polish film, Andrezj and his wife, Krystyna, a well-off couple by Communist-bloc standards, pick up a young male hitch-hiker after almost hitting him with their car, and, presumably bored, invite him on their sailboat. The two men immediately set off on a subdued alpha-male contest. pitting the older man's knowledge of sailing with the younger one's refusal to knuckle under, and the woman switching sides at key moments. It's a typical European film of that era, full of subtle moves and psychological turns (think: "L'Aventura" and "Purple Noon"), plus crisp, deep-focus cinematography, but not much action. Ending leaves us about where it began. This was Roman Polanski's directoral debut and it won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. I thought it was worth watching, but I'll take his "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" over it any day.


Ntra la porta tua lu sangu � sparsu,
E nun me mporta si ce muoru accisu...
E s'iddu muoru e vaju mparadisu
Si nun ce truovo a ttia, mancu ce trasu.