Roman Polanski is cleaning up at the French version of the Oscars, aka the Cesar Awards. His “An Officer and a Spy” has gotten him Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Polanski is not at the ceremony in Paris because he felt his presence would cause a “lynching.” He remains in the shadow of his 1978 US rape case, despite the “victim,” Samantha Geimer, begging everyone to let it go already. Polanski was also recently accused of sexual malfeasance by another woman who stayed quiet for 40 years.
Nevertheless, he is a great artist who has made tremendous movies.
Polanski lost Best Picture to director Ladj Li’s “Les Miserables,” one of the best films of the last year in any language.
Will we ever see “An Officer and a Spy”? I don’t know if any distributor is brave enough to show it, thinking there will be idiotic protests. Same for Woody Allen’s “A Rainy Day in New York,” a terrific comedy. We live now in an era of censorship and “cancel” if anyone goes against the new conventional wisdom. I never thought we’d go backwards like this, but we have.
Best actress went to Anaîs Demoustier, for “Alice and the Mayor.” Best actor to Roschdy Zem for “Oh Mercy!”
“Parasite,” won Best Foreign Language Film.
