Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir, 2011.
Directed by Laurent Bouzereau.
Starring Roman Polanski and Andrew Braunsberg.
SYNOPSIS:
Roman Polanski talks about being a Holocaust survivor who became a controversial public figure and an internationally acclaimed filmmaker.
During the time Roman Polanski was under house arrest in Switzerland where he was to receive a life time achievement award at film festival, a good friend and colleague decided to assemble a documentary about him. Andrew Braunsberg who was a producer on The Tenant (1976) which was helmed by the French born director serves as the narrator and interviewer.
Braunsberg keeps a brisk pace with the questioning and inserts himself into the proceedings; his interviewee is cooperate and emotional at times. A funny yet sad moment occurs when Roman Polanski who had to work in a paper bag factory as a child demonstrates the skill in front of the camera; life was never easy for him as his mother died at a concentration camp, and his father remarried leaving his young son to be raised by an uncle. An act of kindness occurred when a Polish moviemaker advised the struggling but promising actor to pursue film school to learn what he was really meant to be – a director.
Success would not come immediately but the rising film talent was courted by Hollywood and fell in love with an American actress; when Sharon Tate (The Fearless Vampire Killers) was killed along with four others the media circus surrounding his life commenced as Polanski was initially a suspect in the case. It was later discovered that Tate was the victim of a group of followers belonging to Charles Manson who were sent to seek revenge on a former resident of the house. The media scrutiny would reach a fever pitch when it was revealed that the man behind the camera had sex with a minor. After serving prison time and being told he may have to go back, Polanski sought refuge in the place of his birth, France and would never set foot in America again. Life would regain a sense of balance when the filmmaker discovered family life with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner (Frantic) and their two children.
One can wonder why Roman Polanski decided to strip himself emotionally bare to the camera but perhaps he felt the time had arrived to tell his side of the story. Assisting the storytelling are a wealth of archive footage and photograph as well as the personal rapport between the two men. It is both heart-breaking but also inspiring to think that an individual who has experienced so much personal tragedy could have risen to such acclaim and stature. The documentary certainly casts Polanski in a favourable light but this does not mean that the dark corners of his life are left unexplored. Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir is what exactly what it claims to be and is essential viewing for those seeking to better understand the legendary Academy Award-winning filmmaker.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir will be having two screenings at the Toronto Jewish Film Festival with the first being April 17, 2013 @ 4 PM at Sheppard 5 and the second April 21 @ 3:15 PM at Innis College.
Trevor Hogg
Originally published April 7, 2013. Updated April 14, 2018.
