Roman Polanski Risks Prison For Polish Film Festival

Roman Polanski’s latest film in sexual politics Venus In Fur,  is screening at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, Poland and Roman is risking arrest and extradition to attend.

Polanski fled the United States in 1977 on charges of sex with a minor, and hasn’t looked back. In 2009 he attended the Zurich Film Festival and was arrested and detained, but the U.S. failed to extradite him. Polanski is a French citizen. His film Venus in Fur , which stars his wife Emmanuelle Seigner and Mathieu Almaric, was one of the critical sensations at this years Cannes Festival.

The film is based on the play of the same name by David Ives, who co-wrote the screenplay with Polanski. One of the film strengths, according to Paste Magazine, is that the film never shakes its stage-bound origins. “It gives us two characters engaging in a battle of wits, sexual desire, jet-black comedy, kinky mischievousness – the film is a constant delight, both actors are superb and compliment each other in this close-quarters drama.”

The film opens in a rundown Paris theater where a stage writer is working on his directorial debut but after auditioning actresses all day has not found the right one for the part. He’s closing up for the day when a sopping wet- and severely late actress shows up to audition. He’s tired and wants to go home but she insists.  Not only is her name the same as the heroine, but her dominant and aggressive personality seem to suit the character he is auditioning for quite nicely. The production is in fact an adaption of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch’s book Venus In Fur, which along with the Marquis de Sade,  contributed to the term sadomasochism.

According to Rope Of Silicon, Polanski plays the film almost like a fantasy that hits the viewer like a breath of fresh air. “He uses plenty of wry humor that keeps you laughing from the start. It is clearly a prestige film that will do well in the U.S.”

Venus in Fur does not have a U.S. release date as of yet. It was produced by Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde and will be distributed by Lionsgate.