I need a favor Gruber.

Roman Polanski’s in the news again and it reminded me of his underrated 1999 fantasy, The Ninth Gate. It’s strange and disappointing, but it’s subtle humor and creepy mystique make me yearn for more. The world would be a better place if, instead of Bruckheimer, Depp had signed onto endless Polanski projects.

To review, Polanski, the genius who gave us films like Rosemary’s Baby, Chinatown, and The Pianist, escaped a Kraków ghetto and managed to survive the holocaust, though his mother was killed at Auschwitz. He moved to the US, began making incredible movies, and in 1969 the goddamn Manson family murdered his pregnant wife, Sharon Tate. Later, he had sex with a 13 year old girl at Jack Nicholson’s house and fled to France.  He’s been there ever since.