2009 November, 30th

Lorri Berry

For the past several years, Roman Polanski has come up in the news, and the past few months, and even days, have been no exception. This time, there is great speculation, published by The London Times, that French President Nicolas Sarkosy’s wife, ex-model Carla Bruni, could have possibly been involved in encouraging her husband to intervene. The reason? Nothing more than a social relationship with Paris’ art community, which ‘coincidentally’ included Mr. Polanski and his lovely wife Emmanuelle Seigner. Now people are really talking.

The Polish director Polanski will this time be allowed to flee—straight from his jail cell to his extravagant Alpine chalet. And what does Polanski have to do in return? Agree to the conditions of house arrest in a famous celebrity community and fork over a bail of $4.5 million. Although Polanski will be monitored according to his presence or absence in his chalet, his house arrest bracelet will not be able to track where he is if he decides to maybe repeat historical events…er…like…fleeing to avoid court and jail time.

Jonas Peter Weber, a professor at the University of Bern in Switzerland, told The London Times that when someone is on house arrest, “We can only check if a person is at home. If the alarm goes off and no police is in the vicinity, the person will be able to flee.”

So what I am gathering from this comment is that there is no way to actually locate Polanski if he does decide to escape. Again.

While Polanski’s family is thanking Sarkosy for being “very effective” in helping with his success in his Swiss prison release, a good portion of the world is struggling with the stories of Polanski’s life, his success in the film industry, and each of their own love-hate relationships with a man who fled to France for protection from being extradited to the U.S. for a rape conviction he received way back in 1977.

A Wounded Soul

On January 20, 1968, Polanski and American actress Sharon Tate wed at the Chelsea Registry Office in London. They were the topic of many newspapers and hob-nobbers of celebrities, artists and the rich and eccentric. They returned to Los Angeles, California, to continue careers and start a family, taking up final residence in a house on Ciello Drive in Benedict Canyon, once a residence of their friends, Terry Melcher and Candice Bergen. Both Polanski and Tate’s careers led them to Europe, with the couple’s good friends, Wojciech Frykowski and Frykowski’s girlfriend, coffee heiress Abigail Folger, agreeing to temporarily reside in the Polanski house.

Tate was two weeks from giving birth to their first child when she returned to Los Angeles. A protective Polanski asked Frykowski and Folger to stay with Tate until he was able to return to LA. Later in the evening, on August 8, 1969, after Frykowski, Folger, and a good friend Jay Sebring returned to the Polanski residence with Tate, they were all brutally murdered. Young Polanski returned to LA to questions about the murders and a lasting image of his wife, Sharon, with their unborn son, Paul Richard Polanski, lying in her arms, both resting in a casket. In November 1969, it was discovered that The Charles Manson Family was responsible for the murders.

Left with the regret of being absent the night of his wife’s murder, Wikipedia states that Polanski wrote in his autobiography:

“Sharon’s death is the only watershed in my life that really matters”, and commented that her murder changed his personality from a “boundless, untroubled sea of expectations and optimism” to one of “ingrained pessimism … eternal dissatisfaction with life”.

He returned to Europe to continue his work in film directing.

A Convicted Rapist

In March 1977, Polanski was hired by Vogue Magazine for a photo shoot. He was arrested for sexually assaulting 13-year-old Samantha Geimer, part of the group being photographed. Geimer testified that she was drugged and raped by Polanski. He pled not guilty, but took a plea bargain by Geimer’s attorneys to preserve her identity. His plead to a lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse was interpreted by California law as statutory rape. After a sentenced 90-day psychiatric evaluation, Polanski was released about midway. The judge discussed the possibility of more jail time and deportation, which led to his fleeing to France before his court hearing. Polanski’s French citizenship granted him safety, but his original charges were pending, and he continued to avoid extradition.

In 1988, Geimer sued Polanski “alleging sexual assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and seduction”. He agreed to pay her at least half a million, which left Geimer and her attorneys satisfied.

A year later, he married Emmanuelle Seigner, with whom he has two children, daughter Morgane and son Elvis.

You Can Run, But You Can’t Hide

Polanksi continued to work on popular films in areas where he felt safe from being extradited to the U.S. Since his escape to France, his list of films includes movies such as Tess, in 1979, during which he was romantically involved with the 15-year-old German-born actress, Nastassja Kinski. Other films include Pirates, Frantic, Bitter Moon, Death and the Maiden, The Ninth Gate, The Pianist, Oliver Twist and To Each His Own Cinema. His works have brought many nominations and awards to his films and the actors and actresses who have appeared in them.

A couple of months ago, it all came to an end. When he entered Switzerland to attend the Zurich Film Festival and accept a Lifetime Achievement Award, he was arrested by police, due to his outstanding U.S. warrant.

So What Is He Facing?

It has been published, by Telegraph.com.uk that “Under Californian law, unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor where the other person is more than three years older is a felony punishable by up to four years in prison. Polanski could receive further jail time for becoming a fugitive from justice.” And although Geimer would like to be left alone and forget about her adolescent memory of this 1977 event, it seems as though justice needs to be served.

Switzerland has not commented on whether the U.S. will receive Polanski into custody, and his attorneys are quickly working to have his case dismissed next month.

Now, at 76, Roman Polanski is receiving great support from Europeans and some of Hollywood’s most popular directors, such as, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, John Landis, and David Lynch. Geimer, herself, attended a recent screening of HBO’s documentary “Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired” and has filed a formal request that Los Angeles drop all charges against him. And now, with a paid bail and a retreat to a beautiful chalet, what message are we sending across the globe?

I have a few suggestions myself: If you are convicted in the U.S. and want to get out of it, France is the place to be if you have a French citizenship; or If you are famous or a movie star or a big time director, and you become a fugitive, a good chunk of Hollywood will probably have your back; or maybe even another: Money can buy you just about everything (and even your freedom, if you can manage to stay a fugitive).

The best message, though, comes from victim Geimer. Her formal letter to the Los Angeles authorities is a perfect portrayal of “forgive and forget” (well, maybe not forget—it is in fact all over the news) and a great lesson in karma.

I am in no way dismissing the great accomplishments that were part of Polanski’s lifetime achievements at this point in his career. I am a big fan of his movies that I have seen and have heard a great deal about those that were perhaps ‘before my time’. But let’s remember what happened here. He had an extreme loss, made a huge mistake, fled the country, continued to make millions off of the U.S. and other countries, and kept popping up in the public eye while he was labeled as a fugitive. To me, it just doesn’t add up. And I continue to wonder…Can he still escape a 32-year-old conviction?

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