It just a weird story all around. With justice never served, Roman Polanski's rape victim is actually speakng out on his behalf, "Roman Polanski’s Rape Victim Samantha Geimer Fights for Him in Court." Plus, "Polanski Waits in Swiss Chalet While His Victim's Lawyer Argues to Drop Case":
Director Roman Polanski is now confined to a chalet in a Swiss resort town, having posted the $4.5 million bail to release him from prison, but the next steps in his criminal case remain undetermined. Yesterday in Los Angeles the wish to have the original charges against him of sexual misconduct dropped was discussed in court, as the lawyer representing his victim, Samantha Geimer, presented arguments in favor of dropping the 32-year-old case, according to an AP report published on CBS2.com.And it turns out as well, that despite the public revulsion and outrage, Polanski's latest film is set to hit the big screens. See, "Polanski film gets distributor in U.S.: 'Ghost Writer' will be released by Summit Entertainment." And, "Summit to Distribute Polanski Latest."
Geimer, now 39, has made public pleas to abandon prosecution of Polanski. Since his September arrest in Switzerland, extradition to Los Angeles has loomed for the 77-year-old Chinatown director, where he would finally face the sentencing he evaded in 1978. In 2008 an HBO documentary about the case and trial brought to light alleged misconduct on the part of the now-deceased presiding judge, but motions raised in court were stalled because Polanski refused to return to L.A. to appear in court in person as demanded.
Of course he wasn't there yesterday in court for the "lively hearing where appellate justices peppered lawyers and a prosecutor with pointed questions, often interrupting their arguments to raise new issues." No decision about the case was made; the issue continues to be whether the court can dismiss the case with Polanski not present.
For the lowdown on this, see Anthony Paletta, "The Polanski Hypocrisy":
Amid the many reactions to director Roman Polanski's arrest last weekend in Switzerland more than 30 years after he fled the U.S. after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, none have been as strong as those of the international film community. A petition demanding his release has attracted over 100 film-world signatories, including luminaries from Martin Scorsese and Costa-Gavras to David Lynch and Wong Kar Wai.
Reading the petition, you could be forgiven for thinking that the dispute was over some obscure diplomatic codicil. Its principal focus is on the mechanics of the arrest, namely Switzerland's detention of Mr. Polanski on a U.S. request as he was traveling to the Zurich Film Festival. It cites Switzerland's status as a "neutral country" and the "extraterritorial nature" of film festivals. The substance of his guilty plea and the circumstances of the crime receive only glancing mention, in a single line: "His arrest follows an American arrest warrant dating from 1978 against the filmmaker, in a case of morals."
One would never know that those easily brushed off "morals"—rape and pedophilia—have actually been a central concern of some of the petition's signatories.
Pedro Almodóvar, the daring Spanish director, created a fascinating study of a pedophiliac relationship between a priest and an altar boy in "Bad Education." There's a frank mutual attraction between the characters, but Mr. Almodóvar never leaves any question that their relationship is exploitative at its core, and he makes clear the scars such manipulation can create. If a petition were being circulated for Father Manolo instead of Mr. Polanski, it's doubtful we'd see Mr. Almodóvar's signature on it ....
Still, some film-world names were notable for their absence from the petition. Director Luc Besson refrained from signing it, noting, in an interview with RTL Soir, "I don't have any opinion on this, but I have a daughter, 13 years old. And if she was violated, nothing would be the same, even 30 years later."
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