Say what you will about Roman Polanski but boy, can he direct brilliant movies!
This movie was not only Polanski's feature length directorial debut, it also was the first and only Polish movie he had ever done, that immediately earned an Oscar nomination as well.
In all of its simplicity, this is a strangely haunting movie. There really is not all that much to its story, which actually only adds to the movie its atmosphere and constant tension. Because we know so very little about the 3 characters in this movie, we as the audience, also never fully know what we can expect from any of them. You could call this a slower movie but never a boring one. It's simply far too intriguing for that.
But what also makes this movie great is its approach and visual style. It has some beautiful cinematography and some great compositions in it. Some of the scenes are build up extremely well, especially the ones that consists out of some very long shots. It's a movie made with lots of eye for detail and also with lots of love and passion for cinema. Normally these sort of movies tend to come across as incredibly pretentious but never a Polanski movie! He simply is an unique director, who doesn't need much story or dialog to tell a story, with multiple layers- and depth in it.
I won't pretend like I love everything about this movie, it still has its flaws and weaknesses but overall this remains one real intriguing and exceptional movie!
8/10
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