Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)

Genre: Crime, Documentary
Director: Marina Zenovich
Writer: Joe Bini, P.G. Morgan, Marina Zenovich
Stars: Andrew Braunsberg, Richard Brenneman, Douglas Dalton, Marilyn Beck, Steve Barshop
Countries: United States, United Kingdom

In 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles on charges he gave drugs and had sex with a 13-year-old girl he was photographing for Vogue. Eleven months later, having pled guilty to one count, he fled to Europe before sentencing. This film examines that year-long period, using archival footage of the media frenzy and of Polanski’s life before the charges, clips from his films, and contemporary interviews with many of the principles – attorneys, the victim, and Polanski’s friends and associates. Polanski remains enigmatic, but portraits emerge of the machinations of justice and of a judge more interested in his image than his word or the law.