''Ssaki'' (English translation: ''Mammals'') is a short film written and directed by Roman Polański in 1962. This was the last of Polański's short films before he began work on his first feature, '' Knife in the Water''. ''Ssaki'' received awards at Oberhausen and Melbourne. It was shot in

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...

, but most of the images are white because the action takes place in the

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

. Accompanied by a whimsical

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

and without any dialogue, it is reminiscent of the comedies from the

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

era. The story centers on two men and a sled. The clothes worn by both are appropriate for the wintry conditions, with one dressed more formally than the other. Both alternate pulling the other on the sled. The overriding dark metaphor of the 'story' is clear: both men would rather maintain their (alternately) power relationship than act together. Even after the sledge is gone, one has to carry the other on his back, and vice versa.

References

External links

* * Films directed by Roman Polanski Films with screenplays by Roman Polanski Polish comedy short films Polish independent films 1962 short films {{Poland-film-stub