There's no point arguing about this blight on the life of Roman Polanski. People's opinions are strong on both sides. He is a controversial figure and that will never change.
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" takes a biased look at the child molester case against the director. The interesting part is what went on behind the scenes with Judge Rittenband, the Judge ultimately removed from the case.
Frankly, if all of that is true, which I guess it is since the Judge was removed, I can't blame Roman Polanski for running. Even the District Attorney assigned to the case said the same thing.
The documentary points up the difference between the European and American cultures, and a psychiatrist who examined Polanski speaks of what may have caused his interest in young girls. I'm not sure if he still has such interests, but he has been married now for 24 years to actress Emmanuelle Seigner, and they have two children.
The victim was a very pretty young girl with show business ambitions. She developed into a lovely woman and went on to marry and have a family. She was interviewed and it was pretty obvious in this documentary that she's sick of the whole thing and people's opinions about it. She feels her mother was unjustly criticized for allowing her to spend time with Polanski.
I haven't walked in her shoes, which must have been pretty uncomfortable, so I am in no position to judge. I thankfully was never in her situation as a teenager, never went through schoolmates knowing what happened, never went through the European press publishing my name and having reporters looking for me. The fact that she went on to build a gratifying life is a remarkable achievement.
And I haven't walked in Polanski's shoes, also I'm sure very uncomfortable. I can't pretend to judge a man who lost his parents in a concentration camp and his wife and baby in a brutal, sadistic murder. I didn't have to put up with horrendous things being written about me and his wife in the press after the murders. That he has been able to make any contribution at all to his art form is remarkable.
So I don't come down on either side. As far as the documentary, I found what the attorneys had to say fascinating. If you have any interest in the law, you will find it interesting.
"Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" takes a biased look at the child molester case against the director. The interesting part is what went on behind the scenes with Judge Rittenband, the Judge ultimately removed from the case.
Frankly, if all of that is true, which I guess it is since the Judge was removed, I can't blame Roman Polanski for running. Even the District Attorney assigned to the case said the same thing.
The documentary points up the difference between the European and American cultures, and a psychiatrist who examined Polanski speaks of what may have caused his interest in young girls. I'm not sure if he still has such interests, but he has been married now for 24 years to actress Emmanuelle Seigner, and they have two children.
The victim was a very pretty young girl with show business ambitions. She developed into a lovely woman and went on to marry and have a family. She was interviewed and it was pretty obvious in this documentary that she's sick of the whole thing and people's opinions about it. She feels her mother was unjustly criticized for allowing her to spend time with Polanski.
I haven't walked in her shoes, which must have been pretty uncomfortable, so I am in no position to judge. I thankfully was never in her situation as a teenager, never went through schoolmates knowing what happened, never went through the European press publishing my name and having reporters looking for me. The fact that she went on to build a gratifying life is a remarkable achievement.
And I haven't walked in Polanski's shoes, also I'm sure very uncomfortable. I can't pretend to judge a man who lost his parents in a concentration camp and his wife and baby in a brutal, sadistic murder. I didn't have to put up with horrendous things being written about me and his wife in the press after the murders. That he has been able to make any contribution at all to his art form is remarkable.
So I don't come down on either side. As far as the documentary, I found what the attorneys had to say fascinating. If you have any interest in the law, you will find it interesting.