Friday, May 18, 2012

What a despicable group of people.

Roman Polanski Coming to Cannes for Tribute and Image Rehab

Controversial French filmmaker, Oscar winner Roman Polanski, may be the real lightning rod at Cannes this year. Today a filmed interview with him called “Roman Polanski: A Memoir,” was shown to a packed house. Polanski’s old friend Andrew Braaunsberg conducted the interview with the director at his Swiss estate during his house arrest in 2010. This is not Marina Zenovich’s “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired,” which revealed a lot about Polanski’s original legal situaton. The new film barely addressses much of that.

The new film is more of a conversation between Polanski and Braunsberg and Polanski about the director’s horrifying experiences a a child in the Holocaust, and the way he recreated them for “The Pianist.” In that respect it’s a fascinating interview. Braunsberg and director Laurent Bozereau make Polanski, who is rarely seen by his fans or detractors, a very human side. He’s certainly no monster but a complicated man wih a painful past.

Press shy, Polanski comes to Cannes on Monday for a tribute and a screening of one of his great films, “Tess.” He may also attend a small filmmakers dinner. But his presence here will be felt, without a doubt. And when a deal is made for the interview film to be shown in America, it will cause a sensation.


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