Review for Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir

Roman Polanski to some is one of the greatest film directors ever, to others he is simply a convicted paedophile who never served the just-deserved sentence for a truly horrific act. This is a film that looks at his career with a very candid interview with Polanski himself. Directed by Polanski's friend Andrew Braunsberg, I already knew where the angle of this film would be, but I went in without prejudice, hoping that this film would be an honest account of Polanski's life.

And it is to some extent. Braunsberg goes through Polanksi's life from his time in Poland and persecution by the Nazis which he later used much of this experience for his Oscar-Winning The Pianist. We hear how his mother was sent to Auschwitz and just how much of the horrors of the Krakov ghetto he had to endure. From there we see how he got into the film business making the Oscar-Nominated Knife in the Water and this started his successful film career which includes Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown, Tess, Frantic, The Pianist and Oliver Twist.

The marriage to Sharon Tate and her murder at the hands of the Manson Family is covered and you can see from his reactions that when he says this was the worst experience of his life, that it is true. When we come to the rape of 13 year old Samantha Gailey and conviction we are given a very, very brief account of what he did and why he had to flee the country. The details are not gone into as to what he actually did to her and instead Braunsberg decides to move on to Polanski's reason for fleeing which was simply due to mistrust at the corruption within the American legal system.

For over thirty years, Polanski has had an arrest warrant out for his name and if he was to step foot in America he would be arrested on sight. Some people have often suggested the only reason he was awarded the Best Director Oscar for The Pianist was to lure him into the country. This isn't as crazy as it sounds as while the interviews were being conducted Polanski had been under house arrest after being invited to Switzerland to pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award. When he arrived he was immediately told America had requested a motion to extradite him, which was later dismissed.

Now, Polanski does admit guilt and also expresses remorse over what he did and I think because we don't go into what he did and why it is almost accepted. What he did was still disgusting and awful, but many critics point out that he has not done anything similar since then and conclude this was isolated incident, not the actions of a predatory paedophile.

Throughout the interview there are sections from his films, archive news and picture footage throughout which is a nice way of going through his life. Watching you do forget how many great films he made and of course no one can say that Rosemary's Baby, Chinatown and The Pianist are not wonderful films. Not much is gone into his creation process and maybe if the film had been a little longer there could have been more about how he chose certain projects and how he went about creating them. Instead, this is a much more personal piece, which fits in with the 'memoir' aspect.

There are no extras, which I understand, though I expected some deleted or extended scenes or more from Braunsberg about why he created the film. Because of that, there is only the documentary to go by.

Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir is an interesting documentary because it leaves you thinking differently about a man who for over thirty years has been known for only the bad times. Instead this film looks at the wonderful work he created and all the problems he had to contend with over the years. It is true that if you are looking for more of the dirt on the Sharon Tate or the Samantha Gailey incidents, then this isn't it, but if you want a very level look at him as a filmmaker and how these things formed part of his life, then this is an excellent documentary to see.