BlazeLime Strong and Moving!

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

RaoulGonzo A direct quote from Polanski "My wish was to make a film without costumes first of all, preferably without clothes at all. And without catapults and stage fights. MacBeth exhausted us all to such an extent that we were truly ready to change professions." What? For the most part is a throwaway sex comedy, a film to pick up the spirits at the time depleted director - An absurd Italian Sex farce for which in Italy at least was a success.It's no more than a series of vignettes with no real beginning, middle or end. Things just happen for no apparent reason and without any explanation. Nancy (Sydne Rome) after escaping a trio of inept rapists stumbles into a rambling coastal estate wearing little more than an napkin throughout.Certainly a misstep in Polanski's oeuvre but it's not without its moments of genuine humour and flashes of his trademark shots. Moments of wit in the script but most of the shortcomings are in the direction itself What? Indeed were they trying to say? A running time of 2 hours does test the patience, a film for completists mainly instantly forgettable, but maybe this is what was needed to recharge the batteries to make his next film "Chinatown".

SusanHampson Even though I knew this film was an early-ish Roman Polanski I still wasn't prepared for the overt stamp of perversion running through it. Unlike Knife in the Water and some of the other subtitled films I have seen of his, this has none of the beauty that I know he is capable of. This film is just appalling. This is probably because it is not just directed by him but written and produced also. It's a shame that we have his thoughts directed on celluloid as his thoughts are the worst thing about him - cue a very perverted film.I watched this in 2014 and it looked like it was made in the seventies, not sure if shortly after the US Government tried to deport him but they should have based on this film alone. So how can I explain the story? Wide-eyed, beautiful blonde walks around an Amalfi villa half-naked for two and a half hours saying and doing the dumbest **** that I have ever seen on celluloid? No wait, Dumb and Dumber just beat her but hey, that's a spoof on stupidity, this sadly isn't. To be honest, I am embarrassed to be a woman and to watch this all the way through. My toes were curling and I am no sandal-wearing feminist, I just baulk at watching a woman being submissively whipped during sex and then telling her abuser she loves him.To sum this up, the script could have been written by a teenager and some of the one-liners in it (some by Mr Polanski) are truly truly cringe worthy. I would recommend this film if I thought you could glean any film-making tips from it but this is no Tess or The Pianist. I think Mr Polanski had so many other things on his mind when making this film he forgot how to direct it. I didn't recognise any of his craftsmanship which is why I hired it in the first place. In keeping with Bitter Moon which was also another turkey, avoid this film if you actually want some substance to your main character and some depth to the story.

l-soubeyran The parallel between the story of "What?" and "Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Caroll is very interesting, and maybe this film is the most precise adaptation of Caroll's crazy story, precisely because it really shows all the sexual content of Alice's dream trip. The movie construction reminds the "passage" of Alice "behind the mirror": she escapes the cruel world (the rapists) when she goes down to the "loonies house". Mastroianni's pimp character reminds of the Mad Hatter, because he keeps asking Sydne Rome if she wants to have tea with him around five o'clock. Polanski's character can also be seen as the Mad Hatter sidekick in the book: he keeps fighting with Mastroianni all day long, as if it was some kind of game between them. Polanski is very funny as a nervous "little guy" with a splendid mustache! At the same time he was shooting "What?" in Italy, Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey shot "Flesh for Dracula" nearby, and that explains Polanski's apparition with mustache in a scene of this film. Of course, the "sexual innocence" of Sydne Rome put the film on the rank of "erotic fantasy". The tribute to "Alice" is clear, but it seems that the film may have influenced a great Italian erotic illustrator, Milo Manara, whose sexy heroins really look like Sydne Rome, and are often place in similarly "unvolontary" sexual situations (oooh, the pooor girl lost her clothes, what a shame!). Anyway, this is a crazy absurd funny and sexy film, that never takes itself seriously (at the end, Rome yells to Mastroianni: "Don't worry, this is only a film!")with a very colorful and "sunny" atmosphere.

sisteray While this is certainly not one of Polanski's finest, it is admittedly a damn funny effort. As a warning, don't expect any real substance to this film. It's ridiculous and trivial, but there are laughs throughout. "What?" fills the gap for those who get a kick out of 70's porn plots, but get bored during the sex scenes. This being said, know that it can easily offend. Expect a movie that will get giggles out of a rape scene. It is a no holds barred comedy that breaks ground that "Happiness" will sweep in to master.Polanski combines his psychedelic absurdity of "The Magic Christian" with the stark strangeness that he would later delve into in "The Tenant." It is a valiant attempt to create a surreal sexual comedy. For most films, the lack of any depth to the characters will turn away even the most devoted viewer; but "What?" creates entertaining caricatures that bobble and bump into one another, with surprisingly charming results. It is difficult to say whether this is a good film or not, albeit it is shot beautifully, and leaves the viewer with many a chortle, but compared to the brilliance of his other films it seems a bit empty. The film can be best likened to a scarred and matted alley cat that loves to come and visit. It is rough on the edges and not nice to the touch, but the affection it gives leaves the soft spots all the more appealing.