Review of Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) by Chris G — 10 Jun 2008

An incredibly interesting life but the documentary is not done well. The first 35 minutes are a complete waste of time. In an effort not to make the Sharon Tate/Manson murders not be the focus it's talked about too little and hence, puplic opinion for Polanski is not examined in the way it really should be.

The Manson trial is only mentioned once in passing and Polanski's reaction to it is never spoken of at the time it was happeing - assuming the viewer already has this information. If you don't know the pre history or weren't alive yet, I can only imagine you would find the film somewhat confusing, or at least less interesting than it should be.

Given the chance to speak to the rape victim, only the lightest of questions are asked. In fact anything interesting is skimmed over so we can over focus on the judge - over and over. Polanski's film work is never really seen with any depth.

The filmmakers assume you have seen "Rosemary's Baby" and "China Town" and have all the back story necessary to understand Polanski.