Review of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) by Frederick M — 02 Jul 2009

It's European values vs. American values. Add to the equation a manipulative judge and a sensationalist press. It's the Roman Polanski trial, it was a True Hollywood Story 25 years before E! was even on the air.

The case is fascinating. Why did a mother let her 13 year old hang out with Polanski when she knew he was attracted to young girls and was involved with drugs and alcohol?

This documentary tries to be fair but I think it's slightly skewed towards Polanski. Maybe because Polanski is a highly respected figure in Europe and the victim of the alleged sexual abuse forgave Polanski a few years ago.

Polanski also got seriously dicked around by an extremely manipulative judge who loved playing the press against the DA and the Defense lawyers. After the judge was seriously embarrassed by a photo which showed Polanski in Europe seemingly living the high life --- all bets were off.

It's American justice at its lowest. Polanski was nearly exonerated recently but a dispute over whether the proceedings should be televised created a new storm of dispute and Polanski still refuses to come back to the U.S.

This all makes for an intriguing case and character study. Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, was also murdered in 1969, a crime committed by Manson "Family". This just adds to the sensationalism and intrigue.

The young woman at the time is involved in the film and has quite a bit of screen time. The movie isn't sleazy like a True Hollywood Story. I think all parties have forgiven each other.

Yet, the age of consent remains 18 in many US states, in some states it's 16 or 17. In most of Western Europe the age of consent remains between 13 and 16.