I haven’t weighed in on the Roman Polanski clusterfuck, because I feel strongly that I shouldn’t add to the noise on any given scandale du jour unless I actually have something original, relevant and new to say. So far, I haven’t. But in trying to find an angle from which I could approach the story, I went back and read my review of Marina Zenovich’s Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, which I saw and wrote about at Sundance in 2008. Much of what I could say now about the complexities of the case (and particularly the apparent divide between Polanski’s film industry supporters egotistically “demanding” his release and the — for lack of a better term — normal Americans who hadn’t given thought one to Polanski in decades but are now all over cable news accusing Woody Allen et all of condoning child rape), I already said in that review. So I’m publishing a slightly rewritten version of that review below the jump.
For the record: I had serious problems with the thread of Polanski apologia running through Zenovich’s film, and I personally support his extradition and some sort of jail time, but would hope that there would be a new hearing considering the tangible evidence of judicial misconduct before he’s re-sentenced. That said, I don’t operate under the delusion that my personal opinion actually matters, and the coverage of the case has made me wish that others felt the same.
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Talk about movies making a difference. MIchael Cieply reports that attorneys for filmmaker Roman Polanski, who has long lived in European exile rather than face prison time for ancient charges stemming from an incident involving a teenager, quaaludes and Jack Nicholson’s hot tub, have filed motions to have the case dismissed due to new evidence contained within Marina Zenovich’s documentary Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired.
The film, which I reviewed at Sundance, strenuously argues that Polanski was the victim of a corrupt justice system and an egomaniacal judge, and thus the director had no choice but to flee from an unjustly excessive sentence. I took issue with the film’s sub-theme that only silly, repressed Americans would so strictly punish Polanski for the collateral damage inflicted by his tortured genius, but the evidence presented regarding the capricious flaunting of procedure by the Los Angeles court system is convincing. We’ll see if a new judge agrees; a hearing is set for January 21.
Also, Jeff Wells is implying that there’s something fishy going on because Zenovich was apparently quoted in Cieply’s story initially, but now is not. For what that’s worth.
Anthony Kaufman brings news that THINKFilm has given up distribution rights on Azazel Jacobs’ Momma’s Man to Kino International. THINK announced their acquisition of the film in early March, about six weeks after the film was unveiled at Sundance. Just last week, THINK’s Mark Urman told Kaufmann that they planned on going through with the release of both Momma’s and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, saying that if the company “didn’t think we could get what they deserve, I wouldn’t be proceeding with them. These films are not cash-intensive films. These films will get everything they need.” No word yet on whether or not the troubled company still thinks they can give Marina Zenovich’s doc what it deserves.
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a riveting documentary airing June 9 at 9:00pm on HBO, digs into the facts of Polanski’s notorious case around his sexual misconduct with a 13 year old, and how the justice system failed them both. The Promotion–opening tonight–looks like a comedy but is more an unnerving lightning rod for middle class anxiety, a darkly comic portrayal of what the American Dream has become. People expecting John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott to be foolproof laugh material will be surprised.
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FilmCouch #73 - Be careful what you laugh at
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, The Promotion
