Roman Polanski

In a very odd confluence of things, I only just recently got around to watching Marina Zenovich's award winning documentary "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" (which recently picked up 2 Emmy Awards for writing and directing for nonfiction programming). Now I'll admit the whole Polanski situation is a difficult one. As an artist, the man has talent; as a human being, he's lacking in something -- especially since he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl.

He is not the first filmmaker to engage in this sort of activity. Charlie Chaplin immediately springs to mind -- but, then again, at least he married two of the girls with whom he consorted -- and both females were slightly older than the victim of Polanski's crime. More recently was the Woody Allen situation but that appears to have been consensual. And even more recently was the revelation that the late John Phillips sexually assaulted his own daughter after plying her with heroin. I have trouble understanding the motives of men who would do such heinous things.

Yet, after watching Zenovich's documentary, I had a bit of a better understanding of why Polanski had fled. The film alleges that the judge presiding over the case, Laurence J. Rittenband, misused his judicial powers. Allegedly he was more concerned over his legacy and how he was perceived in the press than in serving justice. Polanski's lawyer and the district attorney had negotiated a plea deal that was originally accepted by the judge. The day before Polanski was to appear in court for sentencing, Rittenband apparently had a change of heart and was not going to allow the plea deal but was going to impose the maximum sentence. When Polanski learned of this -- he fled the country and became a fugitive. He romanced younger actresses -- eventually marrying Emmanuelle Seigner (who is roughly 33 years his junior) and fathering two children. The director worked in Europe and received an Academy Award for his direction of "The Pianist" -- a film I happen to think was one of the best of 2002.

After years of being a fugitive, he was taken into custody in Switzerland and is fate has not been decided yet. It's more than likely he will be extradited to the U.S. to face the charges -- since it was revealed the L.A. district attorney's office had a hand in his being arrested.

As with so many events in Polanski's life, the timing of his arrest is strange, coming just weeks after the 40th anniversary of the murder of his second wife, Sharon Tate, and the couple's unborn child. As everyone knows, that crime was perpetrated by Charles Manson and his followers and Susan Atkins, the woman who claimed to have stabbed Tate (although others in the cult dispute her version), succumbed to brain cancer the day before. Throughout Polanski's life, there has been a somewhat tragic arc. After surviving the Holocaust, his firstborn and his wife are murdered -- victims of a crime. Then, nearly a decade later, the victim turns victimizer and he attacks an underage child.

It's clear from "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired" that the young girl and Polanski were both caught up in a miscarriage of justice. Hopefully, when he now faces the charges, there will be some closure for the now-grown woman -- a mother of three -- and for her attacker. Justice needs to be meted out -- let's hope this time it is fair to each.