Three short sessions and then it was over. The palace, the latest from Roman Polanski, disappears from the Studio Galande poster this Tuesday, less than a week after its premiere. This small cinema in the 5th arrondissement of Paris was the only one in the capital that screened this feature film by the filmmaker who fell into disgrace due to numerous sexual immoralities.
“I want to respect the public, I guarantee this final screening, but it is too complicated for me,” film director Hicham Benmohammed explained to Le Parisien on Monday, while the third and final screening was taking place.
The small cinema was agitated by a feminist demonstration last Wednesday, the day of the film’s premiere; According to Le Figaro, about ten people showed up with a banner that read “Violanski.” They booed the spectators who entered the room, shouting in particular “we see you rapists.”
Thereafter, Hicham Benmohammed declared that he wanted to deprogram the feature film. He claimed that he “wasn’t aware of these stories surrounding Polanski” and accused the distributor of having “trapped” him. Le Parisien reveals that The palace it was finally screened again on Saturday night, before its final screening on Monday.
Killed by critics
The theatrical release of this film with a budget of 17 million euros, according to Varietyis preceded byA cold welcome at the Venice Film Festival, last September, where the director did not go. The simple selection of The palace had been widely questioned and his detractors saw it as a symbol of the director’s impunity. The screening generated deadly criticism.
Release had described the feature film as a “contagious purge,” The Figaro had deplored a “shipwreck” and a “monumental failure,” while Telerama He had described it as “an indigestible and ugly film.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seen such deathly silence in such a large movie theater during a movie that tried so hard to be funny,” he wrote. Variety.
Various accusations
Roman Polanski has been accused of sexual assault and rape by a dozen women throughout his career, accusations that he has always denied and that have not prevented him from working.
He has been considered a fugitive in the United States for more than forty years, after a conviction for “illegal sexual relations” with a 13-year-old minor, Samantha Gailey (now Geimer).
In 1977, arrested, accused of having drugged and raped this teenager, he spent 42 days in prison before being released and heading to Paris. He has since been the subject of an international arrest warrant from the US justice system.
The filmmaker is called to appear in 2025 in California, during a civil trial for the rape of a teenager in 1973, accusations that he refutes “with the greatest firmness,” according to his Parisian lawyer.
Caesar scandal
According hallucinates, The palace It is broadcast only in one other theater in Île-de-France and in 82 throughout France. The plot of this film shot in 2022 in Gstaad, Switzerland, takes place in a luxury hotel, the afternoon of the transition to the year 2000. In the credits, some well-known names, such as Fanny ArdantJohn Cleese or Mickey Rourkebut not popular stars.
The palace It comes four years after Roman Polanski’s controversial coronation at the César. your movie I accusecrowned with twelve nominations, had earned him the best achievement awardeven as a new #MeToo wave swept through French cinema following accusations ofAdèle Haenel against director Christophe Ruggia. The actress had also caused a sensation. leaving the room when this award was announcedand the master of ceremony Florence Foresti was no longer on stage.
Source: BFM TV
