Roman Polanski's parents returned to Poland from France just two years before the World War II began: both were taken later to concentration camps (his mother eventually died there). Young Roman managed to escape the ghetto and was learning survival while wandering through the Polish countryside and living with the different Catholic families. Though local people usually ignored cinemas where mostly German films were shown, Polanski seemed not very much concerned about patriotism and frequently went to the movies. In 1945 he reunited with his father who sent him to technical school, but young Polanski seemed to have already made his choice.
In the 50s he took up acting, appearing amongst the other films in Andrzej Wajda's "Pokolenie (1955)" before studying at the Lodz Film School. His early shorts such as "Dwaj ludzie z szafa (1958)", "Gros et le maigre, Le (1961)" and "Ssaki (1962)" showed his taste for black humor and interest in bizarre human relationships. His feature debut, "Nóz w wodzie (1962)", was the first Polish post-war film not associated with the war theme. Though being already a major Polish filmmaker Polanski yet chose to leave the country and headed to France. Being down-and-out in Paris, he befriended young scriptwriter, Gérard Brach, who eventually became his long-time collaborator. The next two films, "Repulsion (1965)" and "Cul-de-sac (1966)", made in England and co-written by Brach, won respectively Silver and Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festivals.
In 1968 Polanski went to Hollywood, where he easily gained the reputation with the intelligent psychological thriller "Rosemary's Baby (1968)". However, after the brutal murder of his wife Sharon Tate by the infamous Manson gang in 1969, the director decided to return to Europe. In 1974 he again appeared in the USA with "Chinatown (1974)": that seemed to be the beginning of the promising Hollywood career. After his conviction for the statutory rape of a 13-year old girl, Polanski fled from America to avoid prison.
After "Tess (1979)", which was awarded several Oscars and Cesars, his work became intermittent and rarely approached the level of his best films. The director also stretched his talents to include occasional work in theatre. He still likes to act in the films of other directors, sometimes with interesting results as it was in "Pura formalità, Una (1994)".
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