Jolanta Umecka

There was a time in my life when I abhorred to watch movies in black and white.  For some reason, nothing seemed less stimulating.  Recently, though, I've been plundering my university's video library for every film I can get my hands on belonging to the Criterion Collection.  It is a pretty safe bet that anything from this impressive list will at the very least interest you imensely, if it doesn't completely confound you and leave you with a new view of the world.  One of my most recent films consumed has been Roman Polanski's Knife in the Water, a stirring and tense picture with unexpected turns and riveting character arcs.  The narrative takes place almost exclusively in the close quarters of a sailboat, between the couple who owns the craft (Leon Niemczyk and the Jolanta Umecka, who is beautiful in cat-eye specs) and a young stranger they pick up (Zigmunt Malinowicz).  Said film is in black and white, as are many members of the Criterion Collection, and I have become to revere it as an extremely elegant quality in a movie, and Knife in the water is no exception.