wonderful news
it would be a million times better if he were free to accept it
Very interesting; David Ehrenstein should be pleased, given his praise for Ghost Writer on the thread. So a Kaplanoglu film won!? Now i loved his Yumurta, but i noticed Honey had a 1 star rating here, may have changed with more votes since.
Thanks for the info, UDFF.
Sounds like one of those “we feel sorry for you” awards. Sick.
at least Polanski didn’t go away with the Bear itself, sheesh… pretty much a set-up in favor of Polanski, sorry folks…i have very low expectations about his newest, the guy has lost his touch, period..
whoever doubts that clearly thinks his Vampires and Rosemary didn’t deserve any accolades…i wonder…why Ghost Writer and Pianist but no What? fuck Polanski, enough already.
glad to see Kaplanoglu won and some fresh faces. don’t pay attention too much on the ratings here Kenji, i’m more eager to see the new Kaplanoglu than the new Godard to be honest.
“pretty much a set-up in favor of Polanski”
Nothing wrong with that I would rather give to a victim of the justice system than give to someone out of sentiment regarding age or health.
dim I am glad u appreciate the new over the established masters (I happen to like all of roman’s and godard’s films). But even if u dont care that much for Ghost or Twist I think u can still see the imprint of a master and they are still better films than at least 70 percent of the films made that year (rough guess).
“than at least 70 percent of the films made that year”
it really depends on what country’s, region’s or even island’s production we’re talking about. that 70% can represent the whole Hollywood system, sure, but around the globe? i don’t really think so.
i have seen well-established latest films by Ghatak, Kieslowski, even Bergman but some just don’t work. perhaps they haven’t lost their touch as is usual with other examples like Schlesinger or Truffaut, however…it’s time to let aside these “sentiments” and finalize objectivity as the highest of qualities.
fresh faces i personally ask or at least “forgotten” masters but man…this year’s director award was a cop-out for sure. that goes regardless of the film in any case because i can say so the same for Haneke (sorry for the hardcore ones)
Certainly you arent saying dim
that Wha? is a A+ film while Twist is an F film.
I think the difference between my favorite Polanski (maybe Vampire Killers or Repulsion) is an A+ versus my least favorite of his films (Ninth Gate) which is at least a C+ Granted there is a huge difference there but none of the films are terrible or worthy or saying he has totally lost touch.
Of course you could say Schlesinger lost touch with Next Best Thing which was a wretched movie (tho may have had more to do with Madonna’s pull on the film) but even saying schesinger lost touch is misleading because before that he made cold comfort farm which was a very good little film.
“Certainly you arent saying dim
that Wha? is a A+ film while Twist is an F film.”
actually, Twist is below F…..even that animation Oliver Twist was better than Polanski’s. but i don’t want to hijack it more, hehe.
well I am shocked by your hyperbole.
Den, he raped a girl. How is he the victim?
the judge was vindictive and renaged on a deal
okay… im still waiting to know why he is the victim…
especially since no one involved in the case is actually denying that the rape occured.
I think one can appreciate an artist’s work while still detesting his actions and wanting to see justice served.
well when a deal is made to let u out and the deal is changed , that makes u a victim.
also to rearrest in Switzerland after he had been a citizen there for years is crazy
watch Polanski Wanted and Desired; it is a first rate documentary
I agree that Polanski Wanted and Desired is a fascinating doc. Having seen it, I’ll even concede that the judge may have stepped out of line and behaved in a questionable manner. Perhaps if I were a lawyer looking for a legal loophole, I could find one.
BUT, at no point in the doc is there a suggestion that he did not drug and rape this very young girl. Nor is there a question of whether he fled from the justice system and has been living as a fugitive.
If the first judge was out of line, let another judge rule on that. We need one legal standard for everyone and the rich, famous and talented should not be exempt.
well I am glad u liked the film
I dont care that he did it
once he made the deal that should have been it
and to bother him 30years after in a place he has citizenship is crazy
i think it’s time to congratulate KAPLANOGLU and one of the few times a Turkish director wins a major accolade because:
A: Turkey deserves to be discovered with some amazing masterpieces
and B: fuck Polanski, enough already, victim or no victim.
Dry Summer also from Turkey won the Golden Bear in 64, but yeah Turkish films haven’t won as many top awards as their quality’s deserved. Yol shared the Cannes Palme d’Or in 82. Good to see a Greek supporting the “old enemy”‘s products as a good neighbour. I don’t know quite what Polanski was thinking he would achieve with his version of Oliver Twist; it wasn’t a patch on Lean’s version, and didn’t bring much new to it, but the politics of Ghost Writer sounds more enticing.
Beware of Greeks bearing downloaded torrents!
I’m very pleased.
As for the case, charges should never have been filed. The only reason they were springs from the rank anti-semitism of the L.A. district attorney’s office.
So the fact that Polanski had sex with a really very underage girl had nothing to do with it?
No it had nothing to do with his winning Best Director at the Berlin Film Festival.
Nothing to do with the charges, I meant.
The charges were entirely trumped up.
Resd this carefully
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2008/1203081roman1.html
and be sure to follow the necessary links to other pieces of documentation.
The girl gave grand jury VER faced cross-examination — which would have produced quite different story.
I think it’s kind of lame that people are focusing on this instead of Semih Kaplanoglu’s film which won top prize. Polanski has plenty of attention already, let’s try considering Semih Kaplanoglu’s work.
“I think it’s kind of lame that people are focusing on this instead of Semih Kaplanoglu’s film which won top prize. Polanski has plenty of attention already, let’s try considering Semih Kaplanoglu’s work.”
so fuckin’ agreed TIm, that’s what i said but as usual, the old-timers and the typical cine-fans won’t even bother valuing his work.
fuck Polanski, enough already, victim or no victim.
Well, for those who aren’t aware, Bal / Honey is the final installment of Kaplanoglu’s reverse-order “Yusuf Trilogy.” I love both of the earlier films — Yumurta / Egg and Süt / Milk — and while they played at Cannes and Venice, respectively, I hope that this award will now help increase their profile as well.
Third bear for Polanski… I’m happy, he deserves it.
@David: I fail to see how the charges were trumped up when statutory rape was the only thing he was charged with, and even he didn’t seem to consider it much of an embellishment as he pleaded guilty.
User de Faux-Fuyants
Rest of the winners
Golden Bear:
“Bal” (Honey), directed by Semih Kaplanoglu
Silver Bear – The Jury Grand Prize:
“Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), directed by Florian Serban (Romania/Sweden)
Silver Bear – Best Director:
Roman Polanski for “The Ghost Writer”
Silver Bear – Best Actress:
Shinobu Terajima in “Caterpillar”
Silver Bear – Best Actor (shared):
Grigori Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis in “Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom” (How I Ended This Summer)
Silver Bear – Best Screenplay:
“Tuan Yuan” (Apart Together), written by Wang Quan’an and Na Jin
Silver Bear – Artistic Contribution:
“Kak Ya Provel Etim Letom” (How I Ended This Summer), cinematography by Pavel Kostomarov
Alfred Bauer Prize (shared):
“Eu Cand Vreau Sa Fluier, Fluier” (If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle), directed by Florian Serban (Romania/Sweden)
Best First Feature Award:
“Sebbe,” directed by Babak Najafi (Sweden)
Other awards at the 2010 Berlinale:
Panorama Audience Award 2009
“Waste Land,” directed by Lucy Walker, João Jardim & Karen Harley
2nd place: “Budrus,” directed by Julia Bacha
3rd place: “Daniel Schmid – Le chat qui pense,” directed by Pascal Hofmann, Benny Jaberg