What?

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For the question What? see Five Ws.

What?
Directed by	Roman Polański
Written by	Roman Polański and Gérard Brach
Starring	Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome, Hugh Griffith, Romolo Valli, Dieter Hallervorden, Carlo delle Piane, Mogens von Gadow
Release date(s)	December 7, 1972
Running time	110 min.
Language	English
IMDb profile

What? (also variously titled Diary of Forbidden Dreams, Che?, Quoi?, and Was? in different countries) is a comedy movie written and directed by Roman Polański in 1972, starred by Marcello Mastroianni, Sydne Rome and Hugh Griffith.

[edit] Plot

Set in an unnamed coastal city of Italy, the movie tells the story of an American girl, Nancy (Sydne Rome), who, after a rape attempt, takes shelter in a villa where strange guests go around. Here she gets into a relationship with a retired pimp, Alex (Marcello Mastroianni).

Nancy's adventures have been paralleled to those of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, although turned into erotic ones. Critics have also pointed out the movie's lack of connectiveness and the excessive absurdity of several situations...

[edit] Trivia

The movie was shot in improvisation in the villa of the famous film producer Carlo Ponti in Capri.

A trademark of director Roman Polański is giving himself bit parts in his own films. In this film, he is "Mosquito", an interesting and important character of the plot.

Films directed by Roman Polanski

Rower • Uśmiech zębiczny • Rozbijemy zabawę • Morderstwo • Dwaj ludzie z szafą • Lampa • Gdy spadają anioly (When Angels Fall) • Le Gros et le maigre • Ssaki • Nóż w wodzie • Les Plus belles escroqueries du monde • Repulsion • Cul-de-Sac • The Fearless Vampire Killers • Rosemary's Baby • Macbeth • What? • Chinatown • The Tenant • Tess • Pirates • Frantic • Bitter Moon • Death and the Maiden • The Ninth Gate • The Pianist • Oliver Twist • To each his cinema • Pompeii