THE THIRD PART OF NIGHT (Andrzej Żuławski, 1971)

During the Second World War the Weigl Institute, led by Polish biologist Rudolf Weigl, employed Poles, including Jews, resistance fighters and intellectuals, using their blood to produce vaccine for epidemic typhus. This involved injecting lice with human blood and infecting the lice with epidemic typhus. Writer-director Andrzej Żuławski used father Miroslaw’s stories of the Institute for Trzecią część nocy and additionally drew upon Roman Polanski’s popular style, although cleansing it of paranoia. Żuławski also lacks Polanski’s Kafkaesque wit. Michal, the protagonist, emerges from a coma and is surprised to find himself at home; his wife Helena’s coldness further suggests that the couple is estranged. Michal goes for a walk, taking their young son at Helena’s (it will shortly seem prescient) suggestion, but the boy departs,... [read full story]