A Bad Honeymoon?

Bitter Moon (1992)

Director: Roman Polanski

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bitter-Moon-DVD-Peter-Coyote
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I have been reading about Polanski's brush with the law for years. In 1977, he was charged with multiple charges of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Even though he made a plea bargain, upon hearing that he might be receiving a jail sentence, he absconded from the US, and till now, he has lived as a fugitive in France. He rarely travels for fear of extradition. 

Even before this case, he made headlines in 1969 when the deviant followers of Marilyn Manson embarked on a violent spree, killing Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, who was eight-and-a-half months pregnant.

Polanski's 2002 film 'The Pianist' was well-received by the showbiz world. It went on to win multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Director (Polanski) and Best Actor (Adrian Brody). In 2008, a documentary was created about the life and times of Roman Polanski, receiving much acclaim from the showbiz community. Perhaps because of this, 100 Hollywood actors signed a petition calling for his charges to be dropped and for him to be allowed to return. His legal troubles persisted, with many new cases and counter-suits. He remains a fugitive, as the US courts require him to appear in person before making decisions. 

Rosemary Baby and Pianist are amongst the many great movies that he has made. 

'Bitter Moon' is a sarcastic reference to what we commonly refer to as a honeymoon. Nigel and Fiona Dobson, an English couple, are on a Mediterranean cruise heading to India. After seven years of marriage, they need to rediscover the meaning of life. Their reasoning appears quite comical to Mr Singh, a fellow passenger and widower, who is escaping India with his young daughter. The Dobsons' lives seem insignificant compared to the tumultuous and sexually fulfilling relationship of another couple on the same cruise, the sultry Mimi and her wheelchair-bound husband, Oscar. Even though Nigel feels uncomfortable listening to Oscar and Mimi's intimate personal lives, Oscar is determined to recount his story in great detail. To complicate matters further, the sexually deprived Mimi is making advances towards Nigel, exacerbating the Dobsons' already strained marriage.

Responses to this film are mixed. On the one hand, film connoisseurs have praised it highly for being engaging and delightfully entertaining; on the other hand, some label it as disturbing, asserting that Polanski has hit rock bottom. The movie was a commercial failure.

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