Documentary filmmaker Marina Zenovich presented a film of the legendary director at this year's Sundance. To be more precise, the film explores the hazy world of 70s Los Angeles and an incident in which Mr. Polanski engaged in sexual behavior with a 14-year old girl. He skipped the sentencing hearing and headed to Paris, where he still resides.
Polanski is guilty of a crime. What is more criminal, however, was the media circus that surrounded his trial, and the railroading of Mr. Polanski to face a life time in prison for a crime that should have been prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Given the horrific details of his life, I believe Polanski deserved better treatment from the court.
Polanski escaped from the Krakow ghetto in WWII. His mother died in the camps and his father barely survived. Polanski moved to London and began a career in film. He was a ladies man and it was clear that he preferred young women. He met Sharon Tate and the two began a life in California. He continued his sexual behavior with the tacit permission of his wife. Soon, the Manson Family had brutally murdered Tate and a couple of this close friends. I cannot imagine the horror of surviving the holocaust and having your wife slaughtered by a sick cult, but I imagine that the later event pushed him over the edge.
In his mind, are rules guideposts for acceptable conduct when a nation used "rules" to perpetrate the murder of millions and a product of California's penal system can slaughter his family and get magazine covers glorifying the hideous acts? To such a person like Polanski, perhaps laws are viewed as simply a fairytale and the grotesque reality of modern society has faded whatever relevance they once had.
I certainly do not condone Polanski's criminal act, some twenty years ago, but I believe that he has paid the price for his actions and he deserves better from California.
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