Roman Polanski: Short Films
Part of the BAMcinématek series Roman Polanski
Tue, Nov 2, 2010 at 7:30pm
Live musical accompaniment by experimental duo Sza/Za
75min
Experimental electro-acoustic duo Sza/Za's (Paweł Szamburski and Patryk Zakrocki) music blends noise and silence, pop and contemporary chamber, jazz and electronic improvisation, to create a playful, genre-bending sound.
For this special event, Sza/Za performs live to the rarely-screened, early short films of Roman Polanski—a tribute to Polish jazz master Krzysztof Komeda, Polanski’s longtime collaborator in both Europe and Hollywood and the composer of scores for films like Rosemary’s Baby, The Fearless Vampire Killers, and Knife in the Water.
Made between 1958 and 1962, these remarkable short films reveal Polanski's surreal and dark style, his masterful storytelling ability, and restless search for the truth about human nature—perfectly complemented by Sza/Za's whimsical, absurdist style.
The films:
Murder (Morderstwo)
1957, 2min
Polanski’s first film is an atmospheric short scene about a man stabbed to death while asleep in his bed.
Teeth Smile (Usmiech zebiczny)
1957, 2min
A handsome voyeur peers in at his déshabillé neighbor—before being interrupted by her husband's sudden appearance.
Break Up the Dance (Rozbijemy zabawe)
1957, 8min
A band of thugs crash a dance party and disrupt the fun by beating people up and throwing them in the water. The act of thoughtless vandalism and animal brutality, emblematic of Polanski’s cinema, recalls the famous “nosy fellow” scene from Chinatown.
Two Men and a Wardrobe (Dwaj ludzie z szafa)
1958, 15min
Two men emerge from the sea carrying a large wardrobe into a town where everyone they encounter is hostile in this sublimely surreal and poetic parable about the burden borne by those on the periphery of society.
When Angels Fall (Kiedy spadaja anioly)
1959, 22min
Polanski’s graduation film is an ambitious period piece in which the director crosscuts between the present-day, dull existence of an elderly lavatory attendant and her more colorful past as young girl, despite the horrors of two wars and a constant yearning for her lover. Until The Pianist over four decades later, this was the only Polanski film that directly evoked his wartime childhood.
The Lamp (Lampa)
1959, 8min
A fire breaks out in an old doll maker's shop, engulfing the doll parts and their empty faces. The unsettling feeling that the doll maker’s tedious, lifelong work has been in vain becomes a larger metaphor in this gloomy, surrealistic vision.
Mammals (Ssaki)
1962, 10min
Two men take turns pulling each other on one sled through the snow in this cinematic dance of power. The Beckettesque story recalls the themes of political duplicity explored in Polanski’s French 1961 short The Fat and the Lean.
Roman Polanski: Short Films with Live Music by Sza/Za is co-presented by the Polish Cultural Institute in New York, in association with Unsound Festival. Additional support has been provided by Trust for Mutual Understanding and Janus Films.
BAM Rose Cinemas
General Admission: $15
BAM Cinema Club members: $10