I was able to catch a screening of this film, and to my amazement my outlook on Polanski has changed. I read the review posted above and I drew the same conclusions as he/she did.
Polanski is one of our film history's greatest artists. Chinatown was one of the greatest films to ever grace the silver screen. The Pianist was such a powerful film that I actually cried when viewing it. To those who know me, I hardly cry at the movies.
I was 30 years old when his wife (Sharon Tate) and child (she was pregnant) was tragically murdered by Manson's cult. It was a terrible event, and I will never forget Polanski's public television address. He was devastated at the loss of his wife and unborn child.
Now the 70's were a turbulent and changing time. We had Vietnam drawing to a close, The Son of Sam and New York's violence, and people were just upset at the general status of the world. America was really trying to redeem itself.
I do remember the sexual revolutions occurring as well in the 1970s. The above post that mentions the ADA decision is correct, and in fact to this day many believe it was an unscientific pressured move to remove gays from the list. Also, NAMBLA was gaining momentum with their "Sexual Freedom for all" motto, and emerged from the (GAA) Gay Activist Alliance with acceptance. That is until the Stonewall Riots. I remember these events because I was living in Toronto at the time. Since then, the Gay Liberation Front ostracized NAMBLA and removed them from their festivities ever since. Though not all gay members believed NAMBLA was wrong. Harry Hay, the leading Gay Rights figure, wore a sign accepting NAMBLA in 1986's Gay Parade in Los Angeles.
Pedophiles are human beings, and though I agree with Nurture in the Nurture versus Nature schema, I can not label pedophiles as monsters. Many pedophiles are struggling with their sexual preference, just like many gays who've struggled for their acceptance. Polanksi is a normal male, with a sexual desire to be with young girls. Does he use force to have sex with young girls? No.
I have always seen Polanski as a coward. A monster who fled from punishment. This documentary gives us another side of the story. Polanski was targeted, and the sign of the times with gays and NAMBLA asking for rights was a wake up call to politicians and judges to make an example out of Polanski. They branded him evil and disgusting.
Say what you will, I'm sure many people will draw on their own ideas and use their own bias to draw their own conclusions on Polanksi. As a person who has lived through the 70s and went into this film believing that Polanski was a monster, I can walk away now forming the whole story with Mr. Polanksi. My outlook on him has changed, he is not a monster! As far as gay people and pedophiles go, there seems to be a lot of history linking these two groups together. The truth is out there, if people are open minded enough they will care to understand.
