Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

Poland has produced great filmmakers such as Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds, 1958; Man of Marble, 1977) and Krzysztof Kieslowski (A Short Film About Love, 1988; Three Colors: Red, 1994) whose works address directly issues of war, politics, economic turmoil, and moral unrest that have affected their country since WWII. Their films take a serious, hard-nosed slant, and are mostly well-known only in film scholarship and festival circuits.

The other great Polish film director is Roman Polanski, who completes what I dubbed as the "holy trinity of Polish cinema". He is known as the Polish Hitchcock, with films from his early career dwelling in the genre of horror, thriller, and mystery. He further established himself in America with unforgettable films such as Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Chinatown (1974). He also became the first Polish filmmaker to win the Oscar for Best Director for The Pianist (2002).

The most controversial filmmaker to emerge from Eastern Europe of the last fifty years, not for his films (though some are) but for his widely-documented life story, Polanski is able to divide public opinion of him with just the mere mention of his name. This becomes the pursued theme of Marina Zenovich's documentary feature Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, an above average film that is more informative than entertaining.

I will summarize his life story in one paragraph: A young Polanski escaped the horrors of WWII but the Nazis executed his parents during their brutal reign. He grew up to enjoy fine life, womanizing, and film-making. He was at the height of his career when his pregnant wife was murdered. His life crumbled even further when he was accused of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor (who much later publicly forgave him). He pleaded guilty but the trial was not ethically handled by Judge Rittenband. Polanski then fled the US and never came back.

Through my observation, Polanski is not really made the subject of Wanted and Desired. Rather, it is the handling of the trial that seems to be Zenovich's primary focus. In the film, Polanski takes on the character that we are pressured to empathize with. Zenovich portrays him as a tortured person under too much media glare at that time, and his "escape" to France as a fugitive is seen as a liberating one.

Zenovich uses archival footage, and weaves them with interviews with key persons involved in the trial. Much of her film reveals the flawed, publicity-loving personality of Judge Rittenband, the unfair treatment of Polanski by the press, and the circumstances involving Polanski's alleged sexual assault. In an unbalanced way, Wanted and Desired plays too much on the "Wanted" card, whereas the "Desired" part only comes out as such in the final fifteen minutes of the film.

My stand on the Polanski sexual scandal is that no matter the reputation of the accused, he or she should be sentenced accordingly. However, the suspect handling of the trial has raised concerns over the quality and ethicality of the US judiciary system. Polanski was right to flee the US under the circumstances. Now that he is arrested again in Switzerland for that case that goes back to more than three decades, the question to ask is: Is it really still worth pursuing? SCORE: 6.5/10 (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved!

I was able to catch a screening of this film, and to my amazement my outlook on Polanski has changed. I read the review posted above and I drew the same conclusions as he/she did.

Polanski is one of our film history's greatest artists. Chinatown was one of the greatest films to ever grace the silver screen. The Pianist was such a powerful film that I actually cried when viewing it. To those who know me, I hardly cry at the movies.

I was 30 years old when his wife (Sharon Tate) and child (she was pregnant) was tragically murdered by Manson's cult. It was a terrible event, and I will never forget Polanski's public television address. He was devastated at the loss of his wife and unborn child.

Now the 70's were a turbulent and changing time. We had Vietnam drawing to a close, The Son of Sam and New York's violence, and people were just upset at the general status of the world. America was really trying to redeem itself.

I do remember the sexual revolutions occurring as well in the 1970s. The above post that mentions the ADA decision is correct, and in fact to this day many believe it was an unscientific pressured move to remove gays from the list. Also, NAMBLA was gaining momentum with their "Sexual Freedom for all" motto, and emerged from the (GAA) Gay Activist Alliance with acceptance. That is until the Stonewall Riots. I remember these events because I was living in Toronto at the time. Since then, the Gay Liberation Front ostracized NAMBLA and removed them from their festivities ever since. Though not all gay members believed NAMBLA was wrong. Harry Hay, the leading Gay Rights figure, wore a sign accepting NAMBLA in 1986's Gay Parade in Los Angeles.

Pedophiles are human beings, and though I agree with Nurture in the Nurture versus Nature schema, I can not label pedophiles as monsters. Many pedophiles are struggling with their sexual preference, just like many gays who've struggled for their acceptance. Polanksi is a normal male, with a sexual desire to be with young girls. Does he use force to have sex with young girls? No.

I have always seen Polanski as a coward. A monster who fled from punishment. This documentary gives us another side of the story. Polanski was targeted, and the sign of the times with gays and NAMBLA asking for rights was a wake up call to politicians and judges to make an example out of Polanski. They branded him evil and disgusting.

Say what you will, I'm sure many people will draw on their own ideas and use their own bias to draw their own conclusions on Polanksi. As a person who has lived through the 70s and went into this film believing that Polanski was a monster, I can walk away now forming the whole story with Mr. Polanksi. My outlook on him has changed, he is not a monster! As far as gay people and pedophiles go, there seems to be a lot of history linking these two groups together. The truth is out there, if people are open minded enough they will care to understand.

Roman Polanski's life reads like a work of fiction. Tolstoi, Nabokov, Pasternak even Stephen King and Jackie Collins. The fact that it's not fiction but fact makes it overwhelming. He came from a world in which evil had taken away his parents in which he found his mission without any of the things that, most of us, would take for granted. That in itself is kind of admirable almost miraculous. This remarkable documentary puts things in perspective and it achieves that without rhetoric. How easy for a world consumed by gossip an innuendo to transform the man into a monster. I felt for Polanski, I could actually put myself in his shoes and weep. There is an element of innocence in his behavior that it's impossible to ignore. Hopefully, this film, will help justice to be done, real justice and real justice involves forgiveness and compassion.

Ultimately, Roman Polanski--whose work I've enjoyed--drugged a 13 year old girl, raped her anally, and got away with it without punishment. The media frenzy is irrelevant. The eccentric judge is irrelevant. The only pertinent piece of data is that He got away with it. Scott free. If it wasn't so cynical, Polanski's gall in seeking to clear his reputation would be comical. Mr.Polanski should thank his luck that he avoided incarceration; his apologists should be ashamed of themselves.

That said, Ms. Zenovich is a talented filmmaker. Her execution is steady and workmanlike. However, she clearly has an agenda. This isn't a bad movie, but it's a disingenuous one. Don't take my word for it, but if you watch it try to look objectively at how the two sides of this case are presented, how the victim is trivialized and how her advocates are villainized, and make your own determination.

The title of the show means: while he's currently "wanted" in America (for arrest) and he's also "desired" (revered) in France, where he lives. That's quite a disparity.

If you aren't familiar with the sex scandal involving (then) 44 year old Polanski and a 13 year old Los Angeles girl, this documentary tells the story. The film catches up with the attorneys and associated individuals to tell the story. Because there is so much archival footage and current commentary by principals involved, including the girl, this film is probably the best source of information for the event.

Missing, of course, is current-day commentary of Polanski. However, there is a fair bit of archival footage presented in which he discusses the event.

I didn't know much about Polanski, but was intrigued to learn about his background. Apparently he and his parents were sent to a concentration camp where his mother died. During his rise to fame, he married Sharon Tate, who was tortured and murdered by the Manson family (she was pregnant with his son at the time). And there is more - including some details of the event and the strange judge involved.

One gripe about the show is the use of small text: if you're watching it on a small TV, you'll have to squint to try and read some of the text presented throughout the program. It is quite irritating.

However, all in all, the show was pretty fascinating. It's kind of reminiscent of the OJ Simpson event in some says. In this case though, Polanski seems to have been able to carry on with his career.