Film Description
| ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED | ||
| Director: | Marina Zenovich |  |
| Country: | USA/UK | |
| Year: | 2008 | |
| Language: | English/French/German with English subtitles | |
| Runtime: | 99 minutes | |
| Rating: | NR | |
| Principal Cast: | Roman Polanski , Michael Caine, Dick Cavett, Joan Collins, Faye Dunaway, Mia Farrow, Hugh M. Hefner, Jack Nicholson | |
| Trailer: | View the trailer for this film | |
| SCREENING TIMES | |||
| Sunday, November 9 | 5:15 PM | Art Gallery of Windsor | |
For those who aren't familiar with the infamous charges brought up against director Roman Polanski thirty years ago, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired brings us a heavily detailed and fascinating look inside the events surrounding the trial, while presenting a portrait of an injured artist who's wanted by law enforcement in the States, yet desired around the globe for being the man behind such classic films as Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Tenant.
Director Marina Zenovich coughs up tons of tasty archival footage -- coupled with interviews from both sides of the case -- while piecing together the events leading up to February 1, 1978; the day Polanski boarded a plane heading for France and never returned.
Even before Polanski was charged with unlawful sexual contact for engaging in sexual acts with a 13-year-old girl, invited to Jack Nicholson's house for a photo session, the director had somehow managed to coordinate his way through a life full of big ups and even bigger downs. At an early age, Polanski's family were caught up in the German invasion of Poland, subsequently landing them in concentration camps where his father died, and his mother barely survived. Later on in life, at the height of his career, Polanski suffered another blow when his wife Sharon Tate was horrifically murdered at the hands of the Manson family.
This info isn't presented to us in a way that's supposed to sway our opinion of Polanski and the fact that, yes, he still engaged in sexual acts with a 13-year-old girl. What is known about the case is presented, including taped comments from Polanski and the victim, Samantha Gailey (now Geimer), as well as both attorneys. You might wind up asking yourself: "But was it consensual?" And if it's consensual, does that really make a difference when you're talking about a girl that young? Regardless of how you personally feel about the man and the charges, the film is at its best when it focuses more on Polanski's celebrity image and how the original judge in the case was more interested in looking good for the media than he was in delivering a fair verdict.
Is Polanski a great filmmaker who made a mistake, or a perverted coward who ran from the law instead of facing the music? Watch the film and decide for yourself.
Eric Davis
Cinematical
