Rozbijemy zabawe (1957)

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writer:

Roman Polanski (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Youths get ready for a party, decorating the dance floor, cleaning out the fountain of a pond. That evening...

Plot Keywords:

Hooliganism | Hooligan

Also Known As:

Break Up the Dance (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

8 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Lódz, Poland

Trivia:

According to Roman Polanski's autobiography, the film was a stunt which nearly got him thrown out of Lodz film school; Polanski had organized a group of real thugs to break up the school dance and as a result some students were actually beaten up.

Save the last dance for me

"Rozbijemy zabawe..." is a highly underrated early short by famed director Roman Polanski, made in Poland while he was still a student of film technique. It is perhaps one of the finest allegorical short features ever made, showing the under crust turmoil of the 50's decade better than most major Hollywood films of the time with the exceptions of "Rebel Without a Cause" and "The Wild One," certainly more clearly than the highly touted "Blackboard Jungle."

The barbarians at the gate, which is literally scaled when the outsiders crash the masquerade party where the socially acceptable rich and privileged teens are wallowing in the comfort and security of their parents' wealth and power, take over following an orgy of violence. One is reminded of Sergei M. Eisenstein's famous scene from "Oktyabr(Ten Days That Shook the World)" when peasants are shown sitting on Tsar Nicholas II's throne. Society becomes total chaos. Anarchy reigns. Who picks up the pieces?