What?

Roman Polanski’s “What?” is probably one of the most accurately titled films to ever grace celluloid, but what is it trying to say?  “What?” follows the journey of an American tourist in Greece named Nancy.  The first scene of “What?” opens up with Nancy fleeing a gang rape in a surprisingly, if not inappropriately, funny scene. This escape leads her directly into a beautiful villa with a breath taking view. The film’s exploits continue as Nancy is introduced to a plethora of weird, wild, and seemingly dangerous characters, sometimes more than once; déjà vu is it? This smorgasbord of characters is all connected by an ill and eccentric man who is fighting off the cold hands of death. How does Nancy fit into the mold and what the hell is going on? Good questions, let’s see if the answer comes easily.

“What?” is an odd film, especially in tone, it is something very special. Part laugh riot and part surreal sexual fantasy vividly brought to life in its outlandishly crafted and gorgeously framed style. It’s much less slap stick than Polanski’s previous comedy “Fearless Vampire Killers” and  it seems to have a lot of moments that the audience probably didn’t know if it was okay to laugh at or not. The humor is as dark as it is insane. For example one of our characters, Alex, a retired pimp with syphilis seduces our lead and brings her into his bizarre role playing fantasies which are probably brought on by his deteriorating brain; this is also played mostly for laughs. The absurdity never seems to stop, which makes for an entertaining and never predictable film, but what is “What?” trying to get across? An overall message or theme? If so, it doesn’t seem transparent, but saying that Polanski is no doubt a master at his craft has not considered where his strengths lay, the perfectionistic set, framing, and choice of cast.  The ending of “What?” seems to push this point further down your throat as we go into a full meta aspect so late in the game, almost mimicking classic love stories with bittersweet endings in the rain. Was our character Nancy an Alice type wandering through a perverse Wonderland or is it all just an excuse to make art.

Regardless of what anyone takes away from the film, “What?” is worth a look if not just to see a well-made, great looking film with a splendid cast of oddball characters who are willing to get naked and weird.  Newly released and remastered in a gorgeous looking Blu-ray in might be time to finally check it out and see it in all its glory.