Roman Polanski: un homme traqué

Director Marina Zenovich follows up her acclaimed 2008 documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired with the intriguing, if slightly less impactful Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, which had its world premiere at TIFF. Wanted And Desired brilliantly dissected the details of Polanski's mishandled 1977 statutory rape case, the filmmaker's subsequent fleeing of the U.S., and his life since that time. Odd Man Out adds further perspective and insight into the man and his case, while also examining the unforeseen effects that the preceding film had on both Polanski's and Zenovich's lives. Even considering the evolution of the story with Polanski's unexpected 2009 arrest in Switzerland on an American warrant and his subsequent imprisonment, I was mildly skeptical as to whether or not the filmmaker merited another feature-length doc from the same director so relatively soon after the first one. The excellence of Wanted And Desired gave Zenovich the benefit of the doubt from me, however, and what she presents in Odd Man Out more than justifies another Polanski doc.

Some facts and details from the first film are expectedly revisited, usually with some sort of update where relevant. Most notable is the bizarre retraction of statements made in Wanted And Desired from David Wells, one of the rape case's former prosecutors and a central figure of that film. Samantha Geimer, the then-13-year- old rape victim, is also interviewed extensively (as she was in Wanted And Desired), reiterating that she has forgiven Polanski and wishing everyone would just move on with their lives. Not to sound insensitive to what she's gone through, but I was a little puzzled at the contradiction in her expressed exasperation at the continuing media attention, yet still being willing to talk about Polanski and the case (along with her mother and husband) in a prominent documentary.

The centrepiece of Odd Man Out is Polanski's 2009 arrest, which was followed by over two months spent in a Swiss jail and seven more months under house arrest at his Swiss chalet, all while the threat of extradition to the U.S. loomed over him. The motives for the timing of the arrest are murky and curious, especially considering Switzerland's long-held tradition of neutrality and that the 79-year-old filmmaker had either lived or vacationed in the country for decades. Many think that the high profile of Wanted And Desired was the prime reason - directly or indirectly - for his detainment, a proposition that weighs heavy on Zenovich. She also looks at other possible intriguing factors, including that Switzerland might have wanted to cooperate with the U.S. government in exchange for leniency surrounding a matter of tax evasion charges between the two countries involving Swiss bank UBS, or that the resurrected case might have been used for attention by a Los Angeles District Attorney with higher political ambitions. The media firestorm that erupted after the arrest is also thoughtfully examined.

Once again, Zenovich gracefully navigates the delicate waters of the Polanski-as- victim portrayal that the facts in her films conflictingly make unavoidable. The director actually had an interview scheduled with him for a short film follow-up to Wanted And Desired, but he was arrested just before that interview was to take place. As interesting as that exchange would have been, the latest developments in Roman Polanski's long, strange life almost certainly make for the more engaging film experience that Odd Man Out delivers.

An "I kid you not" side note: In the lineup for the movie, just before I had turned my iPod on (and thank God I didn't miss this), a woman who clearly wasn't familiar with Polanski's history asked her friend if he would be attending the screening.

Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out (2012)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Marina Zenovich's follow-up documentary to her 2008 film ROMAN POLANSKI: WANTED AND DESIRED. That film took a look at the director's legal issues after he was arrested for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. The documentary focused on the original terms of him pleading guilty and what led him to leaving the country and becoming a fugitive. This documentary takes a look at his 2009 arrest where the U.S. tried to get him extradited back from Switzerland.

ROMAN POLANSKI: ODD MAN OUT isn't nearly as wonderful as the original film but there's no question that it's a well-made film and one that is likely to cause you to ask moral questions of yourself and of course lead to a lot of debates. This documentary is once again on the side of Polanski and tries to show him as a victim and especially with his arrest in Switzerland where he was supposed to have been getting an award at a film festival.

For starters, the word victim is thrown out a lot here in regards to Polanski yet no one seems to realize that the two months he was in prison he was treated extremely well and was even allowed to edit his film THE GHOST WRITER. I mean, being allowed something like that pretty much takes away the victim card and especially when you consider he's still a fugitive who committed the crime of rape.

With that said, questions are asked about what the point of him being arrested and sent back to America does. The argument is made that he's an elderly man at this point so why go to jail? If that holds true for Polanski does that mean it should be that way for everyone? Should other people running from the law be forgiven once they reach a certain age? Even back to the original plea deal, would a normal person be given such a light sentence?

These are just some of the issues that are brought up here but the majority of the film is certainly on Polanski's side and there's even an audio clip of him addressing the issue. For the most part I think the film offers up "the other side" but, again, there's no question that this film is really rooting for the famed director.

Some of the most interesting moments happen when the original victim talks about the issue as well as her husband and her mother. Hearing her mother discuss what happened the day Polanski took her 13-year- old daughter for photos was quite eye-opening and it makes you realize even more that what happened was wrong on so many levels.

Having watched the previous film on Polanski I felt obliged to see this follow-up. While Wanted and Desired was an apologist soft-pedal of Polanski's criminal behavior, this time it is somehow worse, because the director, Marina Zenovich, begins from the presumption of Polanski's persecution. The implied framing of Zenovich's narrative is that she feels guilt over the part she played in the protracted legal saga which she covered in her first film. But her "mea culpa"s are just that, merely a framing device. Just as in the previous film she biases her arguments by interviewing Polanski's friends and associates almost exclusively, not to mention taking enormous pains to show just how many accolades the man has been given by the artistic community. Nevermind the admittedly tragic murder of his wife. Oh, and of course he was a survivor of the Holocaust. If all that doesn't justify the rape of a few underage girls, then really, what does? Again, the documentary is done with skill, and there are probably many people tempted to look the other way for the sake of Polanski's achievements. But I refuse to let him off so lightly.

Zenovich's superb documentary on Polanski, 'Wanted & Desired' (2008), having supposedly triggered the renewed interest leading to his arrest in Zurich, she now follows up with the story of his house arrest in Switzerland and the media storm it created.

The DVD available in Europe, at least the one I bought, only has Swedish subtitles. Some of the dialogue is in French or else German, and without English subtitles I could only guess. That being the case, the Swedish subs didn't come up on screen when I tried to use them. Talking heads were not identified by name on screen, so plenty of them remained unidentifiable to me, starting with a fatuous idiot (six minutes in) who insists that Polanski should return to the USA because, "What;s the worst that could happen?".

This is an interesting documentary, less so than the admirable, myth-busting Wanted & Desired, but worth seeing even with the dvd deficiencies. However, it overlaps with the wholly accessible alternative of Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir, in which Polanski is interviewed during the house arrest. You may do well to see that one first or in preference, although it focuses more on his lifestory.