Lampa (1959)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writer:

Roman Polanski (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

In waning winter light, a doll maker works in his shop, a kerosene lamp beside him, a jumble of dolls and doll parts...

Cast

Roman Polanski

...

A passer-by (uncredited)

Also Known As:

The Lamp (International: English title) (USA)

Runtime:

Poland:8 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Lodz, Poland

Company:

Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Filmowa, Telewizyjna i Teatralna (PWSFTviT)

Trivia:

Roman Polanski does not like this short film and is said to omit it from his filmography.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in L'armadio (2002)

The Lamp

Polanski has pretty much disowned this short, which is strange as it's not at all bad, although perhaps this was one of his Lodz works which was most heavily prescribed and censored by the film school. It is certainly one of the only Polish pictures of his that does not appear to covertly criticise the regime.

Polanski's cinematic technique was really coming along here. This is one of the most claustrophobic and haunting of his early works. His camera prowls around the set in the same way it would years later to great effect in The Tenant. He also creates a wonderful sound collage out of the opening music and the noise of the doll maker working.

This is a typical student piece, with a single, memorable idea that can fill a short but wouldn't work in a full-length film. It's also arguably the most like his later work of all his shorts. In particular, it reminds me of Rosemary's Baby and The Tenant in that there is a kind of ambiguity as to whether we are really witnessing supernatural events, or if this is just something explainable that appears sinister.

Lampa is a nice little short, and one many young directors would be proud of. It's perhaps not very subtle, or maybe the subject matter could be considered silly, but it seems strange to me that Polanski would write this one off altogether.