The Polish Film Festival series continues with the film “Knife in the Water” at 4 p.m. Friday, April 25, at the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave. The film will be viewed and reviewed with radio announcer Dan Kane.
The 1962 film follows an aging husband, Andrzej, his wife, Krystyna, and a young hitchhiker they invite along on a sailing trip after they nearly hit him with their car en route.
Attracted to Krystyna, the young man accepts their invitation on the boat, however tensions soon grow as the two men compete for Krystyna’s attention.
A fight eventually breaks out between the men after Andrzej accidentally loses the young man’s treasured pocket knife in the water, and as a result, the hitchhiker falls overboard. When a search for the young man yields nothing, the couple assumes he has drowned. In fact, the young man hid behind a buoy on the lake.
Conflicted with what to do, the husband decides to escape his problem by jumping off the ship and swimming to shore. Upon seeing the husband’s departure, the young man returns to the boat where he has a passionate encounter with Krystyna.
When she sails back to the dock, Andrzej is waiting for her, insistent on reporting the man missing to the police. Krystyna confesses her infidelity, but the husband refuses to believe her and the curtain falls with his confusion.
Directed by Roman Polanski and shot in 1962 with only three actors, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1963. Time magazine used a still from the film as the cover of an issue and the film was ranked #61 in Empire magazine’s “The 100 Best Films of World Cinema” in 2010.
Oak Park Arms Senior Living is a rental retirement community which provides senior housing in the form of independent living. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
The event is free and open to the public. For more information call 708-386-4040.
