“Infected Purge”, “Monumental Failure”, “Ugly”: The palaceRoman Polanski’s latest film was heavily criticized this weekend at the Venice Film Festival during its screening, which took place in the director’s absence.
The palaceShot in Gstaad, Switzerland, it is intended to be a sketch comedy set in a luxury hotel, New Year’s Eve 2000. There are a few big names in the credits, like Fanny Ardant or Mickey Rourke, but no popular stars.
The palace laughter is heard in broad strokes at the excesses of the time, with a gallery of outraged characters: Russian oligarchs, unbearable billionaires, nymphomaniac client, lustful plumber. Not to mention a dog, which he will end up mating with a penguin.
“Totally Grotesque”
Very far from the great movies of Roman Polanskyauthor of Pianistabout the Holocaust or classic horror rosemary’s babythis comedy with a budget of 21 million euros had an icy and embarrassing reception in the press screenings.
Release believe in your columns that The palace it is a “disgusting purge” in which “Polanski, on the brink of senility, regurgitates the discards long contained in his cinema (easy cruelty, perverted little gags) in utterly grotesque fashion.”
For the figaro, The palace is a “shipwreck” and “a monumental failure”, while for telerama, is “an indigestible and ugly film”. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such a deathly silence in such a large movie theater during a movie that tried so hard to be funny,” wrote the American magazine. variety.
“You will probably need a good drink to survive the new Roman Polanski movie: you will probably even need to take several, anything as long as it eases the pain,” the British newspaper finally declared. The Guardian.
Alberto Barbera, director of the Mostra, admitted to the American magazine Deadline that the film did not seem very good either: “I did not understand the level of violence of the critics. The film is not excellent, otherwise it would have been in competition. I told Roman before the festival, but I do not agree with the critics.”
According to him, the criticisms are “personal” and “have no respect” for the film or for Roman Polanski. “I know it’s not a perfect movie and some scenes don’t work, but it’s not as bad as the critics say. The critics are really bad.”
symbol of impunity
If Roman Polanski did not travel to Venice, this projection at the oldest and most prestigious festival in the world had acquired a strong symbolic dimension.
At 90, he has become a symbol of a certain impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence and one of the most questioned artists of the #MeToo era. He lives in Europe safe from American justice, from which he has fled for more than 40 years after a conviction for illegal sexual relations with a minor.
Persona non grata in Hollywood, Polanski has seen his situation change in France since the controversy surrounding the César by direction obtained in 2020 by I accusewhile being the subject of new charges of sexual assault.
His selection, as well as that of another artist prohibited in Hollywood, Woody Allen or Luc Besson (against whom the court has just definitively dismissed the rape charge), was seen by some as a provocation.
“No Moral Judgement”
Asked by AFP about this invitation before the start of the festival, Alberto Barbera defended himself considering that it was necessary to make “the distinction between man and artist”.
On Saturday, the film’s Italian producer, Luca Barbareschi, went on the offensive. “We live in the present and, in the present, what matters is freedom. There is no need for moral judgment in art,” he said at a press conference. “The Mostra must be a place for experimentation, provocation and freedom of expression for artists”, he continued.
Polanski’s last film was “difficult” to produce, said Luca Barbareschi. According to the professional media Hollywood Reporter, The palace It was sold in several countries, including Italy, Spain, Israel or Belgium.
But neither in France nor in the United States, lamented the producer, who does not despair of distributing there The palace and remember that the previous film, “J’accuse”, could not be released in Anglo-Saxon countries. These countries “must respect artists like the rest of the world,” she said.
Source: BFM TV
