Regional journalist friendo: “Last night I finally watched Roman Polanski‘s An Officer and A Spy (aka J’Accuse).
“And you were right to praise it. It’s a terrific serving of meticulous, old-school filmmaking, beautifully directed and shot, with a top-notch cast (Jean Desjardin is sensational) and a story that builds and builds until you are emotionally and intellectually wiped out at the end. Just a beautiful piece of work.
“I’ve long been interested in the Alfred Dreyfus case, not just because I’m Jewish but because Emile Zola is one of my favorite authors, and what he did with J’Accuse was an act of true bravery, going up against the French establishment in such a fearless and principled way, which most likely cost him. It has long been suspected that Zola was murdered by enemies who blocked his chimney flue, causing him to die of carbon monoxide poisoning. He’s a real hero of mine.
“Anyway, the fact that Polanski’s film cannot be shown here is a tragedy for two reasons. One, it’s a monumental piece of work from a great director, and two, given the rise in anti-semitism these days, it seems particularly timely and necessary to absorb. So thank you, Jeff, for sending me this link. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your thoughtfulness and generosity.”
Umpteenth HE message to #MeToo Stalinists: It’s been four and 1/3 years since the world premiere of An Officer and A Spy at the 2019 Venice Film Festival, and to this day Polanski’s film is still unreleased theatrically or on home video in the US, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
This is because the #MeToo brigade refuses to acknowledge the fact that the moral behavior of a given artist and the quality of the art created by this artist are two entirely different things. They reside in two entirely separate boxes.
And yet you persist in believing that Polanski’s rep must be permanently tarred and feathered and therefore J’Accuse, too, must be buried or otherwise scrubbed from existence. Because of reputedly credible accusations of Polanski having behaved badly and perhaps even criminally with certain younger women in the ’70s and ’80s. And because the distribution community is terrified of what you’ll say and do if one of their number would even consider streaming J’Accuse.
Polanski the man is not the same package as Polanski the artist. His depiction of awful or ghastly things in his films (he’s never explored Pollyanic fantasy and escapism) has never conveyed a corrosion or poisoning of his own spirit. He understands what goes, how it all works, who the good guys are. This is quite evident in the recently restored The Pianist as well as J’Accuse.
You should understand that this is not a good look for #MeToo, not just now but for all time to come.
Once again, consider a 6.21.12 N.Y. Times article called “Good Art, Bad People“, written by Charles McGrath.
