i love roman

"Its indictment ultimately feels like a secondary issue to Polanski's apparently incontrovertible guilt, which makes him--in this instance--still more victimizer than victim." - Nick Schager

In no way am I excusing Roman Polansky, but the real 'bad' guy seems to be the judge. Instead of dealing with the crime committed, a circus show was created, and I now understand why Polanski fled the country. I thought he bailed from court to avoid prosecution. When the prosecutor and defense lawyer agree, you know somethings up.

Very good examination of the, effectively, show-trial of Roman Polanski to further the career of the presiding judge Laurence J. Rittenband. The movie doesn't attempt to excuse Polanski for his actions anymore than the victim, who has since public ally forgiven him, does. It does show us that he did not receive justice and both his defense lawyer Douglas Dalton and the persecutor David Wells agree.

A good, albeit biased examination of Polanski's personal tribulations. To be clear, he made two stupid decisions: sleeping with a minor and skipping the country. The doc does a good job in showing how everything in between (and possibly, now, afterward) by our justice system is just as stupid.

This film treats Polanski with compassion and sympathy. Was there a miscarriage of justice in his case? I still can't decide, and that may be the result of the film's even-handedness. One criticism: few documentaries rely so heavily on text. I found the amount of print on screen intrusive.