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Sat, Nov 21 2009
Weekend blog: Roman Polanski, the cinema's genius and enfant terrible
Director Roman Polanski exits the Santa Monica Courthouse after a hearing in his sexual assault case in Santa Monica, California October 24, 1977. If Los Angeles prosecutors succeed in extraditing Polanski from Switzerland for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl, the film director faces a justice system that may treat his crime more severely than 30 years ago. Photo taken October 24, 1977.
A general view shows the chalet 'Milky Way', which is according to Swiss newspapers, the chalet of Oscar-winning film director Roman Polanski in the Swiss mountain resort of Gstaad.
Palme d'Or award winner Polanski celebrates during the ceremony at the 55th Cannes Film Festival, May 26, 2002. Polanski won the award for his film "The Pianist".
Roman Polanski is one of my favourite film directors. I haven't seen every film he's made but those I have I would rank among cinema's greatest.
Paranoia, isolation, self-destruction run through them all. Repulsion (1965) was probably the director's first great film, an eerie horror movie with the wonderfully alluring Catherine Deneuve as a painfully withdrawn Belgian manicurist living in London's South Kensington area. Forty-five years later, the film has not lost any of its impact; it haunts the mind with its picture of mental disturbance. The dialogue may sound stilted but Polanski's visual skills and psychological insight transcend shortcomings.
Left alone in her apartment while her sister goes on holiday, Carol (Deneuve) slowly rots away, forgotten by the outside world except for the lecherous advances of her landlord and would-be boyfriend, both of whom she murders. Polanski's skill, as always, is the juxtaposition of the mundane – the "blokey" conversations in the local pub, the leering workmen on the street, her landlord's persistent pestering about the rent – with a case history of acute mental deterioration.
Repulsion works because it's profoundly plausible. We almost come to see the world through her eyes. The only people interested in her are those that WANT something – money or sex – her human self nobody cares for. Repulsion also highlights another curious human phenomenon. We're usually too self-absorbed to notice the deterioration of those around us. Neither, frankly, do we care very much unless it affects us.
Faced with this indifference, is it any wonder that she too withdraws into a shell, oblivious to the world around her? Her sister's boyfriend in the film makes a few feeble jokes, none of which permeate Carol who is physically revolted by his presence. "She's a bit strung-up, isn't she, she should see a doctor", he says, en passant. When the murders happen, they seem almost strangely logical from the young girl's point of view. The outside world is indeed her enemy.
Rosemary's Baby (1968) was another masterpiece. Unlike Deneuve, Farrow wins the audience's sympathy immediately and unreservedly as she falls victim to the dastardly plot. Betrayed by her husband, she slip deeper into the carnal world of witchcraft encircling her. In the end the "dark" forces win. The end of Rosemary's Baby is horrific but also oddly comforting. When Rosemary (Farrow) eyes her new baby – and cleverly Polanski offers us no images – her initial reaction is one of understandable horror, which later turns to something bordering on acceptance, if not the beginnings of affection, as she rocks the infant in the pram.
Interestingly, as in all Polanski's films, the "victim" is usually in what could be described – and I'm aware it's become something of a cliche – an unforgiving urban landscape. In Repulsion it's London, in Rosemary's Baby it's New York – at every turn Polanski reminds us of the loneliness of city life for the forgotten.
In The Tenant (1976) the "unforgiving urban environment" is Paris and here, intriguingly, Polanski himself plays the part of Trelkovsky, a timid Polish clerk living in a depressing run-down building in a wintry Paris. From the beginning Trelkovksy is isolated and out of his depth, ripped off by passing vagrants, bullied by a scheming cafe owner and grumbling neighbours. Is it paranoia or is there real a conspiracy against him? As so often, Polanski's direction leaves it slightly ambiguous and open to interpretation. The slightest noise from the young clerk triggers complaints from neighbours; even moving a table precipitates a cascade of banging. Yet when he's burgled and the entire contents of his home are removed, nobody bothered to notice. Bad luck or what?
As with Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby, loneliness is a recurrent theme in the Tenant, but this time with racist undertones. "I know all about your kind," a police officer tells Trelkovsky. The isolation in this movie foreshadows the ultimate isolation of The Pianist in the director's 2002 classic. It's as if Polanski – whose mother was murdered at Auschwitz and whose actress wife Sharon Tate was murdered in circumstances so savage that I will shirk details here – had been working his way up to his greatest work. The Pianist works because the young Jewish protagonist is not depicted as a hero, merely a mild musician at the mercy of forces beyond his control. Survival is the one thing that ultimately matters to him.
Many of us, if questioned about Polanski's actions back in 1977 when he was charged with statutory rape, would express horror at what he did. But the same people – especially the director's fans like me – continued to enjoy such films as Tess and the Pianist. Equally, we chastised the press for their relentless pursuit of Princess Diana but couldn't quite resist the temptation of peering into the News of the World to glean the latest installation of the saga.
I conclude by saying this. I wish the Swiss authorities had not arrested Polanski or, more accurately, I wish he had never set foot in Switzerland at all. And I say that in the interests of both Polanski and his "victim", who has repeatedly sought privacy and expressed a desire to "move on" from the past but who seems now doomed to be forever chased by the pursuing press, the machinations of the judiciary and endless salacious details of the incident in question.
Meanwhile, Polanski himself resides in a lonely prison cell in Zurich – in an ironic mirror of the isolated, haunted characters he offers us on film. I feel sorry for him. And his victim.
Paranoia, isolation, self-destruction run through them all. Repulsion (1965) was probably the director's first great film, an eerie horror movie with the wonderfully alluring Catherine Deneuve as a painfully withdrawn Belgian manicurist living in London's South Kensington area. Forty-five years later, the film has not lost any of its impact; it haunts the mind with its picture of mental disturbance. The dialogue may sound stilted but Polanski's visual skills and psychological insight transcend shortcomings.
Left alone in her apartment while her sister goes on holiday, Carol (Deneuve) slowly rots away, forgotten by the outside world except for the lecherous advances of her landlord and would-be boyfriend, both of whom she murders. Polanski's skill, as always, is the juxtaposition of the mundane – the "blokey" conversations in the local pub, the leering workmen on the street, her landlord's persistent pestering about the rent – with a case history of acute mental deterioration.
Repulsion works because it's profoundly plausible. We almost come to see the world through her eyes. The only people interested in her are those that WANT something – money or sex – her human self nobody cares for. Repulsion also highlights another curious human phenomenon. We're usually too self-absorbed to notice the deterioration of those around us. Neither, frankly, do we care very much unless it affects us.
Faced with this indifference, is it any wonder that she too withdraws into a shell, oblivious to the world around her? Her sister's boyfriend in the film makes a few feeble jokes, none of which permeate Carol who is physically revolted by his presence. "She's a bit strung-up, isn't she, she should see a doctor", he says, en passant. When the murders happen, they seem almost strangely logical from the young girl's point of view. The outside world is indeed her enemy.
Rosemary's Baby (1968) was another masterpiece. Unlike Deneuve, Farrow wins the audience's sympathy immediately and unreservedly as she falls victim to the dastardly plot. Betrayed by her husband, she slip deeper into the carnal world of witchcraft encircling her. In the end the "dark" forces win. The end of Rosemary's Baby is horrific but also oddly comforting. When Rosemary (Farrow) eyes her new baby – and cleverly Polanski offers us no images – her initial reaction is one of understandable horror, which later turns to something bordering on acceptance, if not the beginnings of affection, as she rocks the infant in the pram.
Interestingly, as in all Polanski's films, the "victim" is usually in what could be described – and I'm aware it's become something of a cliche – an unforgiving urban landscape. In Repulsion it's London, in Rosemary's Baby it's New York – at every turn Polanski reminds us of the loneliness of city life for the forgotten.
In The Tenant (1976) the "unforgiving urban environment" is Paris and here, intriguingly, Polanski himself plays the part of Trelkovsky, a timid Polish clerk living in a depressing run-down building in a wintry Paris. From the beginning Trelkovksy is isolated and out of his depth, ripped off by passing vagrants, bullied by a scheming cafe owner and grumbling neighbours. Is it paranoia or is there real a conspiracy against him? As so often, Polanski's direction leaves it slightly ambiguous and open to interpretation. The slightest noise from the young clerk triggers complaints from neighbours; even moving a table precipitates a cascade of banging. Yet when he's burgled and the entire contents of his home are removed, nobody bothered to notice. Bad luck or what?
As with Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby, loneliness is a recurrent theme in the Tenant, but this time with racist undertones. "I know all about your kind," a police officer tells Trelkovsky. The isolation in this movie foreshadows the ultimate isolation of The Pianist in the director's 2002 classic. It's as if Polanski – whose mother was murdered at Auschwitz and whose actress wife Sharon Tate was murdered in circumstances so savage that I will shirk details here – had been working his way up to his greatest work. The Pianist works because the young Jewish protagonist is not depicted as a hero, merely a mild musician at the mercy of forces beyond his control. Survival is the one thing that ultimately matters to him.
Many of us, if questioned about Polanski's actions back in 1977 when he was charged with statutory rape, would express horror at what he did. But the same people – especially the director's fans like me – continued to enjoy such films as Tess and the Pianist. Equally, we chastised the press for their relentless pursuit of Princess Diana but couldn't quite resist the temptation of peering into the News of the World to glean the latest installation of the saga.
I conclude by saying this. I wish the Swiss authorities had not arrested Polanski or, more accurately, I wish he had never set foot in Switzerland at all. And I say that in the interests of both Polanski and his "victim", who has repeatedly sought privacy and expressed a desire to "move on" from the past but who seems now doomed to be forever chased by the pursuing press, the machinations of the judiciary and endless salacious details of the incident in question.
Meanwhile, Polanski himself resides in a lonely prison cell in Zurich – in an ironic mirror of the isolated, haunted characters he offers us on film. I feel sorry for him. And his victim.
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Roman Polanski may be a great director, an old man, a husband, a father, a friend to many powerful people, and even the target of some questionable legal shenanigans. He may very well be no threat to society at this point. He may even be a good person on balance, whatever that means. But none of that changes the basic, undisputed fact: Roman Polanski raped a child. And rushing past that point to focus on the reasons why we should forgive him, pity him, respect him, admire him, support him, whatever, is absolutely twisted.
He needs to pay dearly for his crime.
As for his films, I have never seen one, and I am living a rich and full life in Bulgaria.
Gabriel -
I carefully said "one of the world's more evil men", not "most evil men", in order to contrast him with the late Pope ! Charles Manson, for one (as you say), Hitler for another, would qualify for the "most evil" prize. As would the late Alistair Crowley under certain criteria.
Polanski, as I said before, did some pretty unpleasant things in life, but the legal principle of the Statute of Limitations should apply, as it was all over 30 years ago.
I fully agree that there are far worse
Epaminondas - "one of the world's most evil men?" I think you've confused Polanski with Charles Manson
Epaminondas - "one of the world's most evil men?" I think you've confused Polanski with Charles Manson
In today's press photos of Polanski (now rather older and white-haired) there is a most unfortunate facial resemblance to the late Polish Pope, John-Paul II.
Probably just their common Polish blood and ancestry, which has quite strong facial characteristics (high cheekbones and broad faces), but an unfortunate coincidence nonetheless : the world's most holiest man resembling one of the world's more evil men !
to Epaminondas- you made my point crystal clear. Banks who accept the money of those for example sell drugs collaborate with the perpretators of the crimes. The problem is the country caters to the sweet tooth and the skier and therefore cannot experience the repulsion that Mr. Polanski is getting as we write
to Future Movie Director - well, if it's "Dirty Money" you're after, there's a fair number of contributors after the Lehmann Bros. collapse last year and the subsequent world credit crisis. A lot of people gained - Bernie Madoff wasn't the only one - and many of them have money stashed away in secret Swiss bank accounts.
So, whatever Polanski's moral turpitude, it ill behoves the Swiss to arrest him. Their banks are sheltering worse crimes.
In reply to Epaminondas, why dont we make a movie - Dirty Money 11
Can we look at another aspect brought out by the article? Though we may not all agree on the arrest of Roman Polanski, we are all pro children and want to protect them from any kind of abuse which by the way is increasing globally. Therefore, can we not all learn from this article that in our own corner of the world we need to pro-zactively do something to help a child in need. Let me count the ways!
Can we look at another aspect brought out by the article? Though we may not all agree on the arrest of Roman Polanski, we are all pro children and want to protect them from any kind of abuse which by the way is increasing globally. Therefore, can we not all learn from this article that in our own corner of the world we need to pro-zactively do something to help a child in need. Let me count the ways!
Gabriel, I am amazed that your editor and publisher allowed you to publish this load of PR rubbish for Polanski.
I remember the disgust felt by many, when Polanski 'got away with it' in 1977. We don't know if he did or did not re-offend.
This kind of class-journalism is just as disgusting as class-justice.
On behalf of my 2 daughters, and for that matter my son I hope he gets the full load of the current justice system heaped all over himself.
I am looking forward to your retraction and the apology of this publication.
I rather agree with Gabriel Hershman, and think his article was a very good one, contrasting the quality of his films with the flawed nature of Polanski's character.
However, as somebody more sensible than some of those posting pointed out, it all happened 32 years ago, Polanski has not re-offended, and the victim does not wish to prosecute. To which I might add that in law generally there is the "Statute of Limitations" or its equivalent, whereby prosecution after a certain lapse of time cannot take place. 32 years is longer than this "lapse of time" in most countries.
Switzerland may have unusual laws: certainly if a disgraced banker such as Bernie Madoff returned to Switzerland after 32 years to reclaim money he had illicitly stashed away in a Swiss bank account, I am sure Swiss law would protect him...
There are mitigating circumstances - contrary to hwat we always hear about 'paedophiles' being bound to reoffend, this man has not reoffended in 32 years. Imprisoning him is depriving his two young children of their father and his current wife of her husband. In addition, this man has already been traumatised enough, losing his mother in the Holocaust and his late wife through murder. This doesn't excuse what he did but we have to look at the individual human circumstances, take note of what the victim wants (she wants the case thrown out) and practise some compassion in this case.
It's really all about justice - and there can be no difference in justice for him. It was a despicable crime to which he admitted and as such it needs to be paid for regardless of who he is and how long ago it occurred.
What kind of a message are we - a civilised society - sending out, if a man who admittedly is a great artist but has done something terrible is not made to pay for it?
Aren't old nazi criminals still made to pay for their crimes when they get caught 50 years later? Aren't paedophile priests being judged for their crimes 30 years on. Justice is justice for all of us - and that is the message that needs to get accross. Anything else would be a farce and vanify our judicial systems. He's done the crime,he's caught - he pays (as would any other citizen).
U.S. deserves the credit to capture the pedophile at last!! He should be tried, humiliated, and then put a few years in jail before allowed to go back to France. Finally, the US system of justice will prevail.
Dear MR. Hershman: Thank you for your empathy, compassion and your essay contributing significantly to man's humanity to man. In 1993 a study was done revealing that by the end of the teenager years adolescents will have watched 200,000 acts of television violence.Meanwhile on the real, live scen, domestic terrorism is at an all time high with most of it going unreported as women fear reprisals by the perpretators. I myself when I was teaching in Toronto had a student who was left with his grandmother who was almost strangled him with a thin wire. The Children's Aid society only took the boy out of the house when he started stealing to draw attention to his helplessness. The grandmother was never arrested by the way. The case of Roman Polanski reminds me of the book "Les Miserables" in which a policeman is obssessed with tracking down one of the few good men. Roman Polanski has for some reason been targeted in this world in which the crisis is the empathy deficit not the financial one. Again,
Thank you for your drawing the attention of what this great artist has contributed to the world.
Gabriel - you refer to the rape of a drugged child as an "incident", and suggest everyone would be better off if this incident was just forgotten. I hope Polanski burns in hell
Roman Polanski is a pedophile and he must swing. i could think of another one who would have swang nicely too, but he recently died before his england tour.
How about Planet Earth to Gabriel?
You don't get it, and you never will.
"Dredge up"? This man did not pay for a crime he committed!!! So, do you suggest that all things like cold case homicides and the like be ditched because, God forbid, we "dredge up" the past??
No, it IS in the victim's interest. Justice needs to be served on these creeps. And guess what? There are lots and lots of talented individuals out there who commit heinous crimes against others. They SHOULD NOT be able to live out their lives in luxury and riches just because they are artists. He STOLE something precious from that woman, something that can never, ever, EVER be replaced, fixed, forgotten.
Have you ever read anything about pedophiles? I have. And I can tell you, and most of those losers will admit this, THEY ARE NEVER REHABILITATED. Ever. Period. They can walk away, without an ounce of pity, from their victims. While the victims suffer, in one way or another, for the remainder of their natural lives.
And my world doesn't end if I don't see works from all the artists supporting Polanski. Missing out? On what, a movie? There are many other wonderful things to experience in this world besides movies.
But like I said before, you don't get it. And you never will.
Actually, Gabriel Hershman to planet earth, this blog was intended as more of a commentary on Polanski's masterful movies than anything else.
I'm referring to classics such as Repulsion and Rosemary's Baby, undeniably great movies whether you like the director or not.
As for the crime in question, I stand by the formula of words I used here - "I wish he had never set foot in Switzerland -" By this I do not mean that anyone is above or beyond the law, merely that I don't believe it is in anyone's interests - especially the victim's - to dredge up this incident 32 years down the line.
Jesse, in addition to boycotting this website, are you going to also boycott all Polanski's movies and the movies of his supporters in Hollywood for that matter? And the movies of all those performers who have acted in his movies since the crime in question? You could be missing out on a lot of talent.
marina1965: I totally agree with you.
Gabriel Hershman: Thank you for having the courage to write this article.
This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained срещу журналисти.
13 years old is still a CHILD. Everyone saying Polansky should not be held responsible for his crimes is a fool. 13 year olds cannot give informed consent, any sex with them is RAPE. When they scream no, it is super extra, you deserve to be put in prison for a decade, rape. It is not, oops he made a mistake, he is so talented, let us throw a party for him rape.
The victim wants it to go away because she was called a whore by the media (like most rape victims are who happen to have been raped by celebrities). If Polansky hadn't run away like a ball-less ass 30 years ago, it would have been behind her and over with for the last 3 decades. But he ran away, he hid, he tried to act like HE was a victim, for that he should get MORE jailtime, not less.
13 years old is still a CHILD. Everyone saying Polansky should not be held responsible for his crimes is a fool. 13 year olds cannot give informed consent, any sex with them is RAPE. When they scream no, it is super extra, you deserve to be put in prison for a decade, rape. It is not, oops he made a mistake, he is so talented, let us throw a party for him rape.
The victim wants it to go away because she was called a whore by the media (like most rape victims are who happen to have been raped by celebrities). If Polansky hadn't run away like a ball-less ass 30 years ago, it would have been behind her and over with for the last 3 decades. But he ran away, he hid, he tried to act like HE was a victim, for that he should get MORE jailtime, not less.
Thank you for beautifully written and thoughful article. That is how I feel too. It makes me sad that a life of a talented artist and flawed (as only everybody else) human became a center of politically charged mass hysteria. I feel much more repulsed by public readiness to constantly recite sexually explicit details of the case, violating the victim again and again. To me it is just a case of blind vindication and misplaced public anger. I wish Polanski had never stepped his foot to Switzerland too.
Would Hollywood have been as forgiving of Catholic priests whose crimes also occurred a long time ago? The sanctimonious double standard endures...
UNBELIEVEABLE! I wonder in Mr. Hershman would have gone as far to defend this pedophile if it were his 13 year old daughter or sister? This is a clear statement of where we are in this world, we put fame and money ahead or the horrific act of rape! I believe a boycott of any public figure that supports this animal is in order!
UNBELIEVEABLE! I wonder in Mr. Hershman would have gone as far to defend this pedophile if it were his 13 year old daughter or sister? This is a clear statement of where we are in this world, we put fame and money ahead or the horrific act of rape! I believe a boycott of any public figure that supports this animal is in order!
Gabriel Hershman, your defense is disgraceful and shameful.
Raping a 13 year old girl against her will in multiple ways is a monstrous act and if you don't see that then you have very little grasp of reality.
Roland Martin recently wrote
"If a famous child actress — for example, Tatum O'Neal, Anna Paquin, Dakota Fanning or Natalie Portman — had been raped by a stalker who pleaded guilty to the crime and then fled the country and lived a life of luxury in Europe for 32 years, would Hollywood heavyweights be standing behind the convicted rapist? Hell no."
This is not to say R.P. is an evil man through and through but what he did was very very bad and in a civilized society there are consequences.
Gabriel Hershman, your defense is disgraceful and shameful.
Raping a 13 year old girl against her will in multiple ways is a monstrous act and if you don't see that then you have very little grasp of reality.
Roland Martin recently wrote
"If a famous child actress — for example, Tatum O'Neal, Anna Paquin, Dakota Fanning or Natalie Portman — had been raped by a stalker who pleaded guilty to the crime and then fled the country and lived a life of luxury in Europe for 32 years, would Hollywood heavyweights be standing behind the convicted rapist? Hell no."
This is not to say R.P. is an evil man through and through but what he did was very very bad and in a civilized society there are consequences.
I am sorry but I just don't get it. Someone sends her 13 years old daughter alone for a Photo session with Polanski, to Jack Nicholson's house? Probably the 2 biggest playboys of Hollywood at that time? In Hollywood where sex is for a girl/woman the easiest path to become an actress? How is this supposed to end?
You feel sorry for an admitted rapist? Someone who gave alchohol, quaaludes and sedatives to a 13 year old girl and then forced her to endure oral sex, intercourse and sodomy, all while she begged him to stop. How can you fell sympathy for this monster? You, Whoopi Goldberg, Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese and anyone else that thinks this is OK, should move your sorry asses to France where apparently it's accepteable to drug and rape children.
Well. Roman Polanski, age about 40, had sex with a thirteen year old girl who was protesting throughout. In the court transcripts, he confirmed that he knew how old she was at the time. Do you have kids yourself?? How would you feel if a middle aged man decided to have sex with one of them??
Unfortunately for Mr. Polanski, feeling sorry for him does not trump "the rule of law."
interesting that you should put the word 'victim' in quotation marks. Why don't you wish instead that such a brilliant director had not exploited his position and in turn exploited—i.e. drugged and raped—a 13-year-old girl. All of this he admitted. There is no need for quotation marks in this case. Any loneliness he may feel was brought on by his own revolting actions.
A reminder: Polanski wasn't simply charged with statutory rape. He was charged with RAPE. The child in question repeatedly refused his advances, and said no again and again as he progressively raped her vaginally and anally. Polanski ADMITS THIS himself.
In light of the fact that there appears to be absolutely no question of the fact that he fucked a child who was actively protesting at her rape, I find myself baffled by your decision to (a) try to downplay the severity of his crime by playing the 'statutory' card, as though this were merely about a technicality, and (b) the use of quotation marks around the word victim. How exactly do you justify the latter? Why, in the name of all you hold dear, do you wish to cast doubts upon whether a child being vaginally and anally raped can be considered a victim?