The climactic scene of Roman Polanski's 1962 classic Knife in the Water leaves the characters torn at the crossroad of their lives. It is ironic that the author of that film masterpiece, Polanski, found himself 32 years ago at such an intersection and made a decision to bail.
It was a conscious decision. Polanski ran from the law. From the legal perspective, the director of Rosemary's Baby became a fugitive that day, wanted for -- according to the deal reached with the prosecutors -- sexual molestation of a child. In fact, from the legal perspective, it was a rape committed by a 45-year-old, very talented man, on a 13-year-old girl, lured with a promise of fame and fortune.
I find it incomprehensible (being also a Polish citizen) that Polish authorities can engage the majesty of the state to defend a fugitive, no matter how famous he is. This is, at least, how one can read a letter of the Polish Foreign Minister, Radek Sikorski, to the American Secretary of State, Hillary R.Clinton, requesting (according to the Polish media) Polanski's pardon. Sikorski's letter constitutes a diplomatic intervention on a ministerial level, involving the state in a case of a fugitive who evaded justice for a court-proven criminal act.
Will Poland, being in the middle of a diplomatic bout with the United States over the scrapped missile defense deal, receive Polanski as a prize for sacrificing its international agreements to Russia? Or perhaps Polanski deserves a pardon because, as the Polish Foreign Minister stated, he is a "recognized film director" whose work the chief of Polish diplomacy "likes"?
One of the Polish filmmakers, Krzysztof Zanussi, calls the then 13-year-old victim "a prostitute" who had been pushed to intercourse by her mother. Can the lifestyle of Hollywood justify the rape of a minor? Film directors know best that as long as there is show business there will be wannabe actresses desiring money and fame. The victims often fall silent because they know that a police report equals the abandonment of that stage in their life.
Anne Applebaum, wife of Polish Foreign Minister Sikorski, writes in the Washington Post that Polanski "has paid for the crime in many, many ways: In notoriety, in lawyers' fees, in professional stigma." Applebaum lists the mitigating factors: He could not return to Los Angeles in 2003 to receive his Oscar for The Pianist, Polanski's father survived the concentration camp at Mauthausen while his mother died in Auschwitz, and his wife was butchered by Charles Manson's gang.
I would not like to see Judge Applebaum in court. Themis, the Greek goddess of justice, does not wear a blindfold in Applebaum's cry of protest. Roman Polanski, his life tragic as it is, thirty-two years ago, stood at the crossroads of his life and consciously chose his fate: avoiding justice and paying the price for his act, which was a prison bunk at Chino penitentiary.
The severity of the act cannot be diminished by the fact that "it was a long time ago" or that the perpetrator lives in exile. A sad childhood like Polanski's should strengthen a man's character, rather than become a pass to ruin the life of another human being.
American law is a precedence law, a history of interpreting the letter of the law in the context of similar cases and reaching a decision through analogy. Polanski's pardon could mean that the American court system may be facing the revision of sentencing of sexual molesters sitting in prison, as well as giving up on those who, thus far, have successfully escaped responsibility for their acts.
The world is full of nice, talented guys who sit in jail for making a wrong turn at the crossroads of their lives. The Polish film director should have his day in court. Until then, the final episode of this unfortunate story will not end.
The author is a New York television producer, author, writer, former U.S. television correspondent for TVP, TVN and Panorama.
Megan Carpentier: Roman Polanski, And The Making Of A Legend
Polanski, the master story-teller, has been refining his story for 30 years, weaving his little lies one by one into a cloak intended to shield him from both moral judgment and the legal system.
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The Polish authoritie
i appreciate your blog.
The greatness of Polanski's films (and "Chinatown
From the four links to other blog postings that I can see from this page, only one, from Bernard-He
Other than Levy, I can really only think of one other blogger on this site that supported him...Some woman from an NGO in Belgium, and she was roundly criticized in the comments sections by regular readers and Huff Post bloggers alike.
Take the names out and just focus on the facts here. What's the argument here? Some of you are acting like this is ok. Well, it's not. But you all knew that......
When the story broke a bunch of poorly informed 'artists' sided with Polanski from a knee jerk sense of artistic solidary. Since when the underlying truth as dripped out.
a) a 40 year old man who had previously had a relationsh
b) this same man fled from justice. He did not have to do so. He chose to do so.
c) he lived in luxury in Europe as a scofflaw.
d) inconvenie
e) sued by his victim (yes, she really did sue him) he finally reached a settlement but didn't pay her what he agreed
f) finally apprehende
g) to this day to the best of my knowledge Polanski has never acknowledg
The net effect of this building wave of reality is that those well meaning supporters are looking increasing
He was 43, not 40.
Relationsh
HE DOES NOT 'drugged, assaulted raped and sodomized a resisting 13 year old child' .
She l.ied about her age+had experience with s.ex and d.rugs.
He agreed to rape plea as a part of a deal in order to save the girl from the long and painful process.
All the comments I read here are based on the girl's relation- which apparently does not include the descriptio
He paid his dues requested by her, and now she would like to close this case as soon as possible. What makes this case a complete nonsense for the RP's offenders is that she is standing at his side. I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU, GUYS!
What we face is the American witch-hunt
Polanski has NOT paid. You are either uninformed or deliberate
Fanned!
'A sad childhood like Polanski's should strengthen a man's character, rather than become a pass to ruin the life of another human being.' - truly the biggest bs. I have ever read!
Roman Polanski hasn't had any SAD childhood. He survived the EXTREME ATROCITIES of the WW2. That is why, of course, the mitigating factors should be taken into considerat
Samantha G. treats her short affair with RP like an episode of her past. And she says that the judge's treatment, the harmful detailed investigat
to their defense, those who reacted initially likely had only a long ago made idea what happened. Today, with the internet, everyone in the world can read the transcript of the girl's testimony, previously hidden to protect her. It is ugly stuff.
We're not keen on baby rapers, we like our heath services and are not dying in the streets and the Iranians on the whole are rather likeable and pleasant people.
Just get out a bit more and you’ll find all this out for yourselves
I've seen interview footage (was it in "Wanted and Desired"?) in which Polanski defended what he did as normal in France and only condemned in backwards places like the US. So I'm happy to see that the French are setting him straight on that bit of denial!
Look into any 13-year-ol
~ nice line
child.
is Roman Polanski responsibl
For those who believe he should be given a fair trial ,you may also look at the petition for his defense.
Do you really think that all the people who signed would defend a monster who raped a baby girl?
http://www
As for the petition asking for his release: yes, I do think all those people are defending someone who raped a girl. Their reasons and motivation have been written about well by others in various media outlets.
It's a gross over-simpl