Venice Boss Defends Roman Polanski

The Venice Film Festival launches on Wednesday with Noah Baumbach’s “White Noise.” Venezia boss Alberto Barbera is making the rounds with some interviews, including one with THR where he is asked about “canceled” directors.

Barbera is screening the final film of late Korean director Kim Ki-duk. The filmmaker was accused of rape by multiple women before his death, this hasn’t stopped Barbera from screening Kim Ki-duk’s final statement, “Call of God.”

Barbera is no stranger to controversy. In 2019 he screened Craig Zahler’s excellent “Dragged Across Concrete,” when no other film festival wanted to touch it. Ditto 2019’s “Waiting For the Barbarians,” starring Johnny Depp.

The THR interview eventually, and inevitably, turns to Roman Polanski. If you remember, Polanski won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice 2019. Barbera had this to say:

We are not a tribunal. I’m not a judge who can make a decision about the personality of a man or a woman. I am a film critic. I’m here to judge the quality of the thing that is submitted to the festival.

I think this separation between the man and the artist is inevitable. It’s part of the history of art. I’ve said before, we know that [Italian painter] Caravaggio was a murderer. But he made some of the most important masterpieces of 17th-century Italian painting. What should we do? Remove the paintings from the museums because Caravaggio was a murderer? I don’t think so.

My position right now is very controversial. But maybe, in a century, people will remember the films of Roman Polanski and they will forget or forgive the fact that he was accused of sexual misbehavior 40 years ago. Again, we are not here to judge the person or the man. We are here to judge the quality of the thing that he makes. Sometimes people that make good things do bad things.

Barbera doesn’t mention Polanski’s “The Palace,” which is currently in post-production. One would assume that this latest one from the legendary filmmaker will be submitted for Cannes, but it’s all up in the air whether that festival will select the film.

Barbera isn’t wrong though. Chances are that Polanski’s films will most likely be remembered 100 years from now and his sins somewhat forgotten. Art has a tendency to do that. Some of the greatest 19th and 20th century painters, novelists, and musicians were immense assholes, and yet does anybody actually care today?

Polanski’s best films (“Rosemary’s Baby,” “Chinatown,” “The Pianist,” “Repulsion,” “An Officer and a Spy”) will stand the test of time.