Starving and on the verge of death, a can of pickled cucumbers is discovered, offering a chance at survival. They are glorious pickled cucumbers of hope. This is a scene from the Oscar-winning film The Pianist, and this is a scene that played out in the real life of the filmmaker. Roman Polanski grew up amongst the horrors and rubble of Nazi-occupied Poland. Losing his pregnant mother to the gas chambers and then losing his pregnant wife to the Manson Family, his experiences in life profoundly influenced his worldview and later work. But The Holocaust was only the first chapter of a life marked by tragedy, scandal …and cinema. This tiny yet charming bohemian makes silly yet tragic comedies and horrific yet thought-provoking controversial thrillers. But it is the personal life of Roman Polanski that has created the most scandalous controversies or controversial scandals, as a fugitive on the run because of “unlawful sex with a minor” hangs over him like devilish fog escaping the hottest depths of Hell. No amount of holy jacuzzi water or celebrity support seems to be able to put these flames out. Many of his films involve a crime occurring near/in/around water, so ya know, that whole “art reflects life” kinda thing is going on here cuz this famous person drugged and sodomized a 13-year-old near/in/around a jacuzzi…. something Hollywood seems to be totally cool with as evident with their standing ovation at the Oscars…. which he couldn’t attend…. cuz he sodomized a 13-year-old… But how is he seen now in the post #MeToo era? And are his movies really that good? …yeah they are, but only if you have the power to separate the art from the artist. So now that the dude has reached his 90s, it is time to ask many, many questions, one of them being… WTF Happened to Roman Polanski?

But to truly understand what happened to Roman Polanski, we must begin at the beginning. The beginning began when he was born on his birthday in 1933 in Paris, France, and moved to Poland at age 3. After barely surviving the atrocities of life in the Jewish ghetto during WWII, as a youth, he dabbled in acting on radio, theater, and film -most notably, the feature A Generation(1955), leading him to his true passion… directing. Roman began to create numerous short films that quickly earned him recognition in the artistic community. Polanski’s first feature film was Knife In The Water (1962). Like most of his films to come, the depiction of romantic relationships and violence in the thriller on a boat upset many Polish critics and Polish authorities, including the Prime Minister. So, for some time, Roman viewed his debut as a failure until he learned that Knife In the Water was doing very well outside of Poland, becoming the first Polish film to be nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Oscars. Roman’s next project Repulsion (1965) won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Although praised by many, Roman is not proud of this psychological thriller, but it did grant him the finances to make the film he really wanted to make, including the 1966 dark comedy Cul-de-Sac.

It was a troublesome shot, but Cul-de-Sac won him that Golden Bear again and showed the world that he was an exciting new voice. Instantly, everyone wanted to work with this new hot-shot young filmmaker. MGM called for a director who could blend slapstick with gothic horror in the comedy The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967). Taking one double duty as director and star, The Fearless Vampire Killers is notable for venturing far into the silly and for bringing together Polanski and his future wife, the beautiful Sharon Tate. The two would marry soon after and Sharon would become pregnant in 1968, the same year Roman brought us his landmark horror film about the unsettling pregnancy of a woman named Rosemary. This disturbing masterpiece turned Roman into a superstar. Rosemary’s Baby earned praise from the critics and fans of the genre alike, remaining influential to the very day. The terror and dread are so effective that many wonder if this movie was a tool of Satan himself…. or herself ….or whatever.

It was now the Summer of Love, 1969 and Roman was in Europe working on his next project when he received a phone call with news from back home in California, the voice of the other end simply cried out “They are dead, they are all dead!”. Polanski’s world collapsed, his wife Sharon, their unborn child and multiple friends were butchered at the evil hands Charlie Manson’s cult. The pain and violence suffered that night is unspeakable, nobody new how to handle the news and the media was quick to tie this horror moviemaker to the crimes with zero evidence. Trashing his name and Sharon’s just to manufacture a catchy headline. While grieving, Roman visited the still bloody crime scene to help himself try to understand. American’s views on how dangerous the world can be were shaking forever. Officially shutting the door on the flower power movement. It was the end of an era. Polanski, Hollywood, and the world as a whole seemed to give up on a peaceful, hopeful future and flirt with embracing darkness. Friends and family say that after the killings, Roman was “not himself for years”, which is understandable.

Unsurprisingly, his next film would be a dark and violent take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth in 1971. But then, we are back to comedy again with the surreal and sensual film What? But what would Roman do after What? Well, it would be difficult for him to return to LA, but that’s where he would shoot his next masterpiece, Chinatown, in 1974. Praised for it storytelling and acting, this neo-noir was nominated for 11 Oscars and is pretty much on every list of greatest movies ever made. Look for a Polanski cameo with a bloody knife, which was always strange to me, considering the method of the Manson murders. Polanski made one more film before his life fell apart once again, and that film was the paranoid thriller The Tenant, which he also starred in. This was seen as a flop at the time but later gained appreciation from fans of the genre.

Then, for some reason, in 1977, Roman Polanski found himself alone with a 13-year-old aspiring model named Samantha. They, too, were engaged in a photo shoot in Jack Nicolson’s hot tub (who was not home at the time), and soon, at Roman’s request, this child’s clothes started to come off. Crossing the line even more, this 44-year-old man and this 13-year-old girl took drugs, drank alcohol, and so on and so forth. Upon being arrested, Roman didn’t seem to understand the severity of the accusations. He seemed to think he could charm his way out of it and blame cultural misunderstandings, but the dude confessed to knowing the victim’s age. In order to understand the man and the case better, lawyers viewed many of his films and claimed to see many similarities and connections between his work and his crime. Such as a woman being drugged and taken advantage of in that infamous scene in Rosemary’s Baby. After the more serious charges were dropped, Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor and spent 42 days behind bars before he was released to serve probation. Upon hearing that the judge planned to return Roman to prison and throw away the key, the filmmaker fled the USA for France.

But much like all the other obstacles in his life, this did not really slow him down much as a filmmaker; apparently, you can still make movies in places that are not in the United States. Roman immediately got to work on Tess. A film dedicated to his late wife, Sharon Tate, who was originally set to star. It is a return to Oscar-nominated form for Roman, but then, for some reason, he took a 7-year break from filmmaking. I guess he just focuses on himself and his soul or whatever he has in there. That’s right, Roman waited until the late 80s to bless us with another picture. Describing his return film sounds like I am reading off a mad lib picked at random during a fever dream… Roman Polanski directed a Walter Matthau pirate comedy brought to you by Cannon. It was simply called Pirates, and like every other pirate movie that isn’t -Of The Caribbean, it flopped. A Hithcockian thriller starring Harrison Ford called Frantic would be a return to form for the filmmaker regarding thrillers. It was a promising new chapter in his life and career, working with his new muse and new wife, talented French actress Emmanuelle Seigner.

He would continue to work with his wife and bring the world another controversial sexually charged thriller called Bitter Moon in 1992. This was followed by Death And The Maiden, another thriller where Roman would fire real guns on set to bring out real fear in these movie stars. But yeah…despite the scandal, the biggest movie stars still wanted to work with Roman, movie stars like Johnny Depp in The Ninth Gate, returning to occult themes. Embracing the demons once again…. then it was time for Roman to embrace the pain of his childhood. He avoided Holocaust films his entire career, even turning down Schindler’s List. Polanski was not ready to take on that subject until the new millennium came around when he read the script for The Pianist. This is the film that Roman wants to be remembered for, and this is the film that finally got him that unholy golden idol at the age of 69, which was delivered to him in France by Harrison Ford. Look! The Fugitive is giving an Oscar to a fugitive! It is a beautiful well, crafted heartbreaking film that only Roman Polanski could have made. It was so good that it made most of us forget all that other stuff he did… for a bit. Then, maybe to connect with his poor childhood again, he faithfully adapted Oliver Twist into a major motion picture that totally tanked in the US but did alright in Europe. Then for some reason, Hollywood made a 3rd Rush Hour movie and for some reason, it was set in France, and for some reason, it featured a cameo from Roman Polanski, and for some reason, the filmmakers thought it would be funny to have this sodomizing sex criminal tell cavity search butt jokes… Idk, it just feels like a bizarre choice all around here.

In 2009, just as he thought all his legal troubles were behind him, the aging filmmaker went to Switzerland to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival and was arrested at the airport. 10 weeks in maximum security prison and then 8 months of house arrest. Roman was released after the Swiss Ministry of Justice decided not to extradite him to the US. But while Roman was locked up this time, the post-production for his latest film, the political thriller The Ghost Writer was never put on hold. Polanski oversaw every step of The Ghost Writer behind bars. Yep, he finished editing the movie while in a Swiss prison. As soon as that was over, Roman continued making films. Like Carnage, a clever dark comedy set in real-time in one location, just an apartment, and some of the best actors of the day. Polanski returned to his native tongue and made a French film, Venus In Furs. This is the last Polanski film to date to receive a release in the United States. The rest of his films, like Based On A True Story, An Officer And A Spy, and 2023’s Y2K comedy The Palace, have not been released in the US due to the controversies surrounding Polanski’s conviction in 1977.

Whether he deserves it or not, the drama doesn’t seem to stop for this man. More criminal accusations would come in 2017 and 2019 when two other actresses claimed Roman raped them as teens in the 70s as well. Polanski was still settling lawsuits of this sort in 2024 and maybe to this very day! So what do you think of when you hear the name Roman Polanski? Do you picture a survivor? Or a victim? Or a child predator? Or a gifted filmmaker? Or is he just a character in a Quentin Tarantino to you? His legacy remains divisive, with ongoing conversations about separating art from the artist. Maybe somewhere out there is a Tarantino-eske alternate parallel universe where Roman’s family survives, and maybe the scandal never took place, and nobody ever asks the question, “WTF happened to Roman Polanski?”

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