Roman Polanski’s ‘Palace’ fails to make Venice a furore – Misc

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Roman Polanski’s dark comedy “The Palace” earned a three-minute standing ovation when it premiered at the Palazzo Cinemas’ Sala Grande on Saturday night.

Producer Luca Barbareschi, French star Fanny Ardant and other members of the cast, including German actor Oliver Masucci (“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”), Portugal’s Joaquim de Almeida and Italian Fortunato Cerlino (“Gomorrah”), all stood and bowed. But the audience’s response seemed to be more polite from the outside, although there were occasional bouts of laughter during the show.

Prior to the premiere of The Palazzo, set designer Tonino Zira received the Campari Passion Film Award from Venice from art director Alberto Barbera.

Polanski directed the black comedy from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jerzy Skolimowski and Ewa Piaskowska. The Palace is set during New Year’s Eve 1999, when a dinner party at the Gstaad Palace Hotel in Switzerland takes an unexpected turn. The cast includes Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Bronwyn James, Joaquim de Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Fortunato Cerlino, Mickey Rourke, Alexander Petrov, Victor Dobronravov, Irina Kastrinidis, Olga Kent, Nike Anna Celebeau, Matthew T Reynolds . Tiko Celio, Marina Strakhova, Michel Schaba, Danilo Kotov and Davide Gagliardi.

miscellaneous Chief film critic Owen Gleiberman wrote of the film: “When I watched ‘The Palace’, Roman Polanski’s dazzling comedy, I was seated in the 1,400-seat Sala d’Arsena (and it was full), and on the rare occasion when there was a line in the film there was a laugh. , it was literally coming from about six people. I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of a giant stage this Deadly Silence for a movie that works so hard to keep you entertained.

Polanski has a history in Venice, where his film “Carnage,” starring Kate Winslet and Jodie Foster, premiered at the festival in 2011, as well as “An Officer and a Spy” in 2019.

His return to the festival this year sparked controversy, as he faced multiple allegations of sexual assault over the course of his career. He was originally arrested in 1977 in Los Angeles for the assault of 13-year-old Samantha Gilley. He entered a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful sex with a minor, and was sentenced to 90 days psychiatric evaluation in a California prison. He was released after 42 days and placed on probation. Gilley later sued Polanski in 1988 and eventually settled the suit in the 1990s. Then he was arrested again in 2009 in Switzerland at the request of the United States, but in the end the attempt to extradite him for trial failed. In 2018, Polanski was removed from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. However, in March of this year, Geli stated in an interview with Polanski and his wife, Emmanuelle Signer, that she had forgiven him and “anyone who thinks they deserve to be in prison is wrong.”

When asked why one of Polanski’s films was booked into this year’s slate, Alberto Barbera, Artistic Director of the Venice Film Festival, said in an interview with diverse: “60 years have passed. Polanski has admitted his responsibility. He has asked to be forgiven. The victim has forgiven him. The victim has asked for an end to this case. I think that continuing to attack Polanski means looking for a scapegoat for other situations that deserve more attention.”

Earlier on Saturday, during the film’s press conference, producer Luca Barbarewski expressed his support for the director by chanting “Viva Polanski!” It also came to an end.

“I don’t understand why all the platforms: Paramount+, Amazon, Netflix, have Polanski [older movies] “They make millions for them,” he said. “Why don’t they make a new Polanski movie?”

“The Palace” will premiere in theaters in Italy on September 28th.