Murder

Murder (1957)

*** (out of 4)

Roman Polanski's first short film quickly shows a murder taking place. For such a short film (running time wise), the director does a very good job at showing atmosphere and the murder is quite effective as well.

Teeth Smile (1957)

*** (out of 4)

Another short from Polanski, this one dealing with a peeping tom. Once again the young director shows he would become quite capable of building some nice atmosphere.

Break Up the Party (1957)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Somewhat amusing short from Polanski has a more interesting history than what's exactly on screen. Polanski threw a party at his school and invited a gang to break it up half way through. That's what we see here.

Two Men and a Wardrobe (1958)

*** (out of 4)

As the title suggests, two men carry a large wardrobe around the city getting in all sorts of trouble. Polanski shows good timing in the comic moments and his cameo as the gang leader reminded me of a certain scene in Chinatown.

No spare moments in this short made by young Polanski (he was 24 in 1957). Each moment is rigorously motivated in the logic of the movie. No spare space, either: each bit of space that comes on the screen is rigorously motivated. Effective, matter of fact, that's what comes in mind. No country for useless moments. No country for useless space.

I'm tempted to think at all short movies made by young Polanski as related to his Knife in the Water. Two worlds completely distinct: ours, and theirs. Where does this murderer come from, where is he going? Why is he killing? The same questions could be put for the young from Knife in the Water, all his actions seem totally unmotivated for the other male, obviously belonging to "our world". Kim Ki-Duk is also describing such strange encounters with guys who seem to just be visiting our world.

Well photographed. Nothing I like better than an old door. High contrast black and white. The parting shot reminiscent of David's "Au Marat.' Its all over in a moment.

If you're interested in seeing the origins of a master, Polanski's Morderstwo won't disappoint. In spite of its being a student piece, it is actually more typically Polanski than many of his subsequent shorts.

The thing that stands out most about Polanski is his ability to manipulate space. Hitchcock could create tension out of nothing, Polanski can create a feeling of confinement out of nothing. Morderstwo is just a minute long and nothing happens other than a quick yet frenzied murder, but the overwhelming impression is one of an enclosed suffocating space, with the plain, windowless room, shot in indistinct slightly-too-close-ups. The eponymous murderer himself virtually fills the screen and creates an extra wall between camera and subject.

As is the case with several of Polanski's shorts, Morderstwo is less a short film in its own right, and looks something like a snippet from a full-length feature. It's clearly nothing more than a student assignment, and probably served no other purpose than to help Polanski get to grips with a few basics. Today it has no real value than to film buffs interested in the early development of one of the best filmmakers of his generation.

On a side note, I had a chuckle at the IMDb plot summary for this, which tries to build it up into some kind of suspenseful thriller. Talk about making something out of nothing!

Man enters room, stabs sleeping man, walks out. The end.

Roman Polanski devotes no more than one sentence to this short in his autobiography, & refers to it as a "preliminary exercise".

That's all it really is, just a simple exercise with a camera, & a grand total of two edits, not counting the titles (which, I suspect, were added years later).

However, it has an eerie quality about it not usually found in simple film-school exercises. The murder itself is committed in such a matter-of-fact fashion that it has an almost documentary sense of realism about it. It's not done with waving arms, bizarre camera angles or splashing blood - it's done with a pocketknife, positioned above a man's chest & pushed firmly downwards. Can't say I've ever seen a murder done like that on film before, & that's what's so nasty about it - it's so bland it feels as if it must be real.

The lack of any soundtrack just makes this minor entry in Polanski's filmography seem even creepier. A disturbing hint of things to come.