Usmiech zebiczny

Another of Polanski's very-very-shorts, which he made as a film student at Lodz. Like Murderer before it, Teethful Smile shows that right from the word go Polanski was fascinated by interiors.

Taking place in a stairwell and a bathroom, the walls in this picture seem to be pressing in on all sides. Beginning with a plain and simple act of voyeurism, Polanski also introduced two motifs that were to crop up throughout his career. First, showing the point-of-view of an insider looking out, secondly its theme of male attitudes towards women.

The rest of Polanski's shorts following this are incredibly diverse and unusual, and really have very little to do with his later work. I'm guessing that this and Murderer are perhaps slightly more personal in terms of their content because as far as the film school was concerned they were merely technical exercises. They certainly capture the typical Polanski look in spite of their briefness.

On a final note, I find the English translation of the title a little awkward-sounding. I've heard of toothy grins, but never teethful smiles