Two Men and A Wardrobe

View Two Men and a Wardrobe, directed by Roman Polanski.
He made this film while he was in

college and all of the filmmakers and actors are college friends.
Analyze how it is international in style
Pick one short scene and explain what technique(s) are used.
Analyze how it is international in style: A vital element governing around the uniqueness of Roman
Polanski’s short Polish film: Two Men and a Wardrobe is its international style. Polanski incorporates
longer lasting camera shots as a contribution to the films symbolic meanings. For example, in the
beginning of the film Polanski introduces a long tracking shot of two men carrying a wardrobe out of the
ocean. This shot was intended to be a symbolic representation of the two men being “birthed” into the
world. Also, another aspect of the films international style is how the film focuses on the development
of its main characters. We can see a representation of this development when the two men carrying the
wardrobe climb out of the ocean onto the beach. Once on the sandy shore the men begin to
lightheartedly dance around and play with each other. By focusing on these playful mannerisms Polanski
added to his overall development of the innocent childlike characters he aimed to portray to the
audience.
Another trait representing the films international style is the way the cultural customs differ from
Americas. These differences are illustrated in the tragic scene where the kitten is cold-heartedly
murdered. In the U.S. the Animal Welfare Act was initiated thirty-one years prior to Poland. Thus,
Americans began valuing the lives of animals sooner than Poland. So, according to “American ways” this
scene would more than likely be viewed as barbaric and unnecessary. Where as in Poland the scene
would be viewed as a necessity to understanding Polanski’s underlying message. Finally, one of the most
noticeable international traits of Polanski’s film is the symbolic meanings incorporated throughout the
short film. As I had previously stated, Polanski used the scene of two men carrying a wardrobe out of the
ocean to symbolize being “birthed” into the world. He continues this incorporation of symbolism
throughout the film with his shots of the two men venturing through town.
First, we see the men getting yelled at by passengers for mistakenly trying to board a bus with their large
wardrobe. Next, we see the men trying to interact with a woman in town whom responds in a cold
uncaring manner by walking away. We also observe a seemingly friendly man pickpocketing another
man he’s talking to. Then, we see the men carrying the wardrobe get forcefully kicked out of a
restaurant they enter, and an egotistical man who’s more concerned with staring at his reflection than
helping some people struggling with their luggage at a hotel. Finally, we see the various violent actions
of the people in town. Violent actions that range from a kitten getting brutally killed by a group of thugs,
the two men carrying the wardrobe getting ruthlessly beat with a wooden plank by an officer, and a man
beating another man to death with a shoe. This all leads to the ending of the film when the two men
carrying the wardrobe re-enters into the ocean and disappears. All these shots were illustrations of the
dangers and troubles the two men carrying the wardrobe faced while being in town. They were symbolic
meanings to Polanski’s underlying message that the world is a violent and cold place to reside in.
Pick one short scene and explain what technique(s) are used: A short scene in Polanski’s film I would
like to focus on is the ending when the two men carrying the wardrobe are walking back onto the beach.
The shot montages from the two men carrying a wardrobe down a sandy incline to a close up shot of a
young boy building multiple sand castles on the beach. The shot then zooms out to reveal endless rows
of sandcastles the boy had built. Next, the two men carrying the wardrobe begins to re-enter the shot
from the right of the frame to the left, delicately stepping over the countless sandcastles towards the
water. This choice of position for the men’s re-entrance into the shot was used as a technique to
represent the depressing and defeated mood the men felt as they walked back into the ocean. Finally,
the shot ends in a mise en scene of the men and their wardrobe vanishing into the ocean they once
emerged from. Incorporating this mise en scene as the final scene of Polanski’s short film was a
significant representation of the disappointing, harsh encounters the men experienced on their first and
last journey into town.

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View Two Men and a Wardrobe, directed by Roman Polanski.

He made this film while he was in

Analyze how it is international in style

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