Original title: Trzecia czesc nocy
- 1971
- 1h 47m
- Directed by Andrzej Żuławski
Synopsis: During Nazi occupation of WWII Poland, after his family’s slaughter, a husband joins the resistance while hunted by Gestapo. He aids a woman in labor, works as a typhus vaccine guinea pig, and confronts a man tortured in his place.
My Review:
Andrzej Żuławski’s debut feature “The Third Part of the Night” (1971) is a feverish, hallucinatory journey through Nazi-occupied Poland that defies conventional storytelling. Set against the backdrop of World War II, this surrealist nightmare follows a man who witnesses his family’s murder and subsequently finds himself in increasingly bizarre circumstances working as a louse feeder at a typhus research institute. Żuławski masterfully blends historical horror with personal trauma (drawing from his father’s wartime experiences) to create a disorienting atmosphere where reality constantly shifts. The film’s claustrophobic cinematography, jarring editing, and haunting score contribute to its unrelenting sense of dread. While its 107-minute runtime demands patience as it descends into metaphysical territory, “The Third Part of the Night” stands as a bold artistic statement that established Żuławski as a distinctive voice in Polish cinema and remains a disturbing meditation on survival during humanity’s darkest hours.