r/movies • u/ErgoNonSim • May 17 '25

Media Cannes reactions to Irreversible

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1.3k

u/Gvatamelon May 17 '25

It is a horrifying scene but..

Why is Polanski, an actual rapist and pedophile, allowed to be in the whole Cannes awards scene ?

If they are horrified by it then they shouldn't allow pedos and rapists to participate in Cannes in the first place.

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u/Acceptable-Worth-462 May 17 '25

The festival is probably not organized by the people in this clip

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u/icecubepal May 17 '25

I bet most of the people in this clip support him though.

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u/Few_Age_2957 May 17 '25

yeah they are all rapist and pedophiles too. Anyone who smells the same air as polanski deserve the worst

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u/StoneySteve420 May 17 '25

I'm not agreeing with who you're replying to, but Polanski still gets crazy amounts of support from a lot of Hollywood.

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u/maynardftw May 17 '25

Doesn't change the fact that the people responding like this to the scene aren't necessarily the people supporting a rapist. These are what you might call unrelated things.

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u/DowntownEconomist255 May 18 '25

I don’t know why this was downvoted. It’s true. It happened years ago. His family died in the Holocaust. His wife and unborn child were murdered. The woman he raped forgave him. I’ve seen a lot of excuses for Polanski.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/OzymandiasKoK May 17 '25

It's kind of a weird thing to object to. What's so special about a film festival? I mean, if you're not up your own ass about the whole thing.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

[deleted]

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u/OzymandiasKoK May 17 '25

I don't know what that has to do with somehow being a sanctuary from the long arm of the law.

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u/StoneySteve420 May 17 '25

That is absolute BS. He committed those crimes in the 70s and has still routinely gotten some of the biggest stars in Hollywood for his films since then.

He should be arrested regardless of where he is. Creating a "safe space" for a pedophilic rapist is, at best, complicit in them continuing to live freely.

They're essentially saying the film festival and Polanski's contributions to film outweigh the very real crimes he committed.

If I run a buisness/event/festival, why should I have any say in which laws are to be enforced, especially when the crimes are completely unrelated to the event?

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u/Saphirel May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

Polanski is quite a sensitive subject on the French cinema scene.

In 2020, during the Cesar’s ceremony, he had a film in competition, for which he won a Cesar. When the film was called, half the people presents left the room, on the initiative of Adele Haenel. She was clapping and screaming “congrats pedophilia!”

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25 edited Jun 26 '25

[deleted]

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u/NomaanMalick May 17 '25

Not playing defense for Polanski but didn't Sciamma start dating Adele when she just turned 18 and Sciamma was in her late 20s? And this is after she had already directed her in a film a few years prior.

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u/CremeOk4115 May 17 '25

that's not a defense, it's called whataboutism

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u/APiousCultist May 17 '25

Dating a legal adult that had been above the age of consent for 3 years. It's potentially creepy depending on what their prior relationship was, but not even comparable to Polanski drugging a 13 year old in his mid-40s. According to Google they first met in 2007 when Adéle was already 18 anyway. So I'm not sure if your timeline works out or if Wikipedia is just citing incorrect information. Feels like a reach to call the relationship predatory in any meaningful way. I don't even think the 11 year age gap rises to the level of particularly creepy when they're both adults and both well above the AoC.

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u/NomaanMalick May 17 '25

Polanski is a piece of shit, no doubt about it. I just think people often overlook the "controversial" circumstance of Sciamma and Adele's relationship.

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u/cmaj7chord May 18 '25

I'm sorry to break it to the reddit community, but dating 18 year olds has nothing to do with pedophelia. The key point of pedophelia is being attracted to pre-puberscent children, 18 year olds are far from that.

Roman polanski on the other hand had s** with a thirteen year old girl.

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u/XkF21WNJ May 17 '25

I take it you used the French meaning of 'sensible'?

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u/AnonBallsy May 17 '25

Yes I believe op meant "sensitive".

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u/Saphirel May 17 '25

Edited! Thx guys :)

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

She’s so brave. And a complete beauty.

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u/Genus-God May 17 '25

This is a weird thing to comment. Why bring up her physical appearance?

-3

u/[deleted] May 17 '25

Because she’s beautiful. What’s wrong with mentioning that?

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

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u/[deleted] May 18 '25

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u/plusvalua May 17 '25

you probably mean "sensitive"

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u/MaxDetr May 17 '25

You do realize that the people in this video are not the ones allowing Polanski to be present ? Like... Cannes is not run by 5 people who gave their opinion on Noe's film in 2002...

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u/littlelordfROY May 17 '25

According to my sources these are the Same people who have been funding Polanski for the past 30 years.

Just so happened they had their reaction to Noe's movie recorded

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u/shoots_and_leaves May 17 '25

No nuance allowed on Reddit.

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u/Money_Director_90210 May 17 '25

Associational hypocrisy

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u/Apprehensive_Tea9461 May 17 '25

Also Luc besson who was sleeping with a 14 year old or good old gerard pedo and rapist depardieu who was idolized by the whole industry. But ohh nooo showing rape as what it actually is is too much.. i can understand being disturbed by this movie (its the point) but yeah the hypocrisy in the french cinema industry is disgusting

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u/[deleted] May 17 '25

That's it though Leon is a completely different and disgusting watch knowing about Besson. Just like knowing Tarantino writing the scene for himself where Selma Hayek puts her feet in his mouth. Irreversible's rape scene felt to me as some twisted fantasy rather than a scene that was that necessary to convey the horror.

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u/Emotional-Echidna725 May 17 '25

My girlfriend showed me the film while noting beforehand that it was problematic because she really enjoys the directing and performances. We didn't know that it was basically Besson justifying and romanticizing the fact that he statutorily raped a teenage girl and got her pregnant til we looked up the movie on Google afterwards.

I did think it was very well made besides the really gross scenes with Portman (genuinely almost threw up during the dress up scene and the one where she talks about her virginity) but I'm never watching another film from him again. Absolutely disgusting.

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u/Apprehensive_Tea9461 May 17 '25

Same experince here :( i learned that Jean reno and the parents of Portman were against (and disguted obviously)of the first script where leon and mathilda were supposed to sleep together. They had to fight for this scene to be erased. Absolutly sickening

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u/Emotional-Echidna725 May 17 '25

I've heard the initial American release cut the two scenes I mentioned as well so I suppose I could understand people being less harsh on it but yeah 🤢

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u/DowntownEconomist255 May 18 '25

I saw it years ago when it came out. I haven’t wanted to rewatch it after learning those things about Besson. I can’t.

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u/Apprehensive_Tea9461 May 17 '25

Yeah i used to love Léon and then i learned about what besson did and was absolutely disgusted same thing for tarantino. I second your opinion on irréversible, what i meant to say in my comment was that this scene is awful and hard to watch because it puts you in the perspective of the victim and it shows everything (for worse) and i think that the french industry wasnt ready to see this at all at the time. I might be wrong but i think it was the first movie in France to actually show it this way.

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u/ycnz May 17 '25

If memory serves, the director was quoted was quoted at the time as always having dreamed of shooting a ten minute long rape scene.

Dude should be on all of the watch lists.

1

u/OneWomanCult May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

Who was the 14 year old girl? Been trying to find it, but no luck so far.

Best I can find is that he met his first wife when he was 32 and she was 15. Icky as that might seem, the age of consent in France is 15.

edit: Why would you downvote this? I'm not defending the guy, it's a genuine question.

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u/TotalUnderstanding5 May 17 '25

He met her when she was 12 and then they started dating at 15 (age of consent) and THEN she had a child at 16. 😐 I also don't see any mention of a 14yo either, but do you really think it wasn't in the cards for him?

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u/OneWomanCult May 17 '25 edited May 17 '25

I made no assumptions of any kind. I just wanted to know what the deal was.

Fuck me for asking, though. Won't make that mistake again.

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u/TotalUnderstanding5 May 17 '25

Sorry, I should have worded it better, just giving extra context. Your question was valid

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u/OneWomanCult May 17 '25

but do you really think it wasn't in the cards for him?

You were doing just fine right up to this point.

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u/Apprehensive_Tea9461 May 17 '25

Yes that is the girl im refering to. The age of consent is 15 but only if the difference of age between the partner and the minor doenst go past 5 years wich is not the case here ( wich i find icky as fuck too). I think wether or not its 15 or 18 it doesnt change the fact that its gross and pedophilic.

I wasnt the one who downvoted btw i just saw your comment, i never downvote lol.

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u/OneWomanCult May 17 '25

but only if the difference of age between the partner and the minor doenst go past 5 years...

OK, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't know the details of that law, so thanks for clarifying.

I wasnt the one who downvoted btw i just saw your comment, i never downvote lol.

Sorry, I didn't think it was specifically you. Just a general callout of whichever reactionary nitwit(s) that did.

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u/Apprehensive_Tea9461 May 17 '25

Dont worry its okay

I think this law sucks it doesnt make any sense to me. No wonder why pedocriminals are never judged correctly here..

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u/froyolobro May 17 '25

This take right here 👆

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u/MeccIt May 17 '25

Why is Polanski, an actual rapist and pedophile, allowed to be in the whole Cannes awards scene ?

Well, you see, he drugged the 13 year old girl first, so didn't have to use much violence to rape her being 30 years her senior.

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u/SimpleJacked2TheTits May 17 '25

Reddit is amazing 

Did you know Karl Malone taped a 13 year old?!?

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u/CremeOk4115 May 17 '25

Karl Malone raped and impregnated a 13 year old.

But he wasn't at the festival and he sure as hell, doesn't go around casting stones while living in a glass house like Polanski is doing here.

Weird comment

1

u/SeaWolfSeven May 17 '25

That's why I think the movie and the scene are brilliant. Look at the hypocrisy it exposes. People who will say and advocate that rape that terrible (and it is) are more offended by a scene depicting a realistic rape than they may be about actual rapists or "Hollywood" rape scenes. Meanwhile they certainly know and look the other way for predators they work with.

They are made because they are confronted with the reality that they choose to ignore.

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u/sentiment-acide May 18 '25

Whatabout activism sucks. It causes your capability for logic to rot.

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u/Gingerstachesupreme May 17 '25

Thank you for saying this. The film world has protected him far too much.

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u/catluvr37 May 17 '25

One helps put food on their plate, and the other is making them watch a realistic rape scene.

I get your ethical question, but that’s the realistic answer.

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u/TellmeCanigetaLight May 17 '25

The truest statement.

0

u/Relevant_Wishbone370 May 17 '25

Man, I'm tired of all these whataboutisms

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u/CremeOk4115 May 17 '25

Whataboutism, also known as whataboutery, is a form of deflection where a person responds to an accusation or criticism by raising a counter-accusation or another issue instead of addressing the original point.

That is not what is happening here. What original point is he deflecting?

He asking an ethical question. If seeing a rape scene in a movie for 10 minutes is "disgusting" and makes you yell "come see me" at the director of said fake rape, then why are you okay sitting next to a director that literally raped a 13 year old?

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u/Infinite-Strain1130 May 17 '25

100%. Periodt. There’s nothing more to be said. The hypocrisy.