A Twist of Roman

OLIVER TWIST- I saw the film Sunday night at the Academy. It is very well done, entertaining and enjoyable. Fagin is terrific and Oliver is well played. The guy who plays Bill Sykes sucks, and since you are only as good as your villain, this leaves the film somewhat lacking. While not the triumph of his last film THE PIANIST, it is a great time. Check it out. The most interesting bit for me was the last scene which I don't recall from precious films or the book. From Yahoo-

Polanski unveils new children's film Oliver Twist

Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski unveiled his latest film Oliver Twist admitting he was glad he had finally made a film his children could watch.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of the world premiere in Prague, the city where he filmed the 19th century Charles Dickens tale, Polanski said it was his wife who had mooted the idea of remaking Oliver Twist as he searched for a children's project after making the Oskar-winning movie The Pianist.

"My children like coming to watch me working but the result of my work escapes them. So I started looking for a subject that would be suited to them and with which they could identify," he said.

French-born Polanski said it was important that children realised life was not like that portrayed in fairytales and admitted he did not much discuss with his children his own childhood in a Polish Jewish ghetto, where he moved at a young age with his parents.

"I wanted to show them a world beyond our comfortable appartment. But I don't sit down with them and say 'this is how it was for me'. I don't dwell on it; I don't think it's healthy, I don't think it's necessary," he said.

"Maybe this is the kind of film that gives children something to think about. When I was a youth I liked to think about films after (seeing them at) the cinema," he added.

The film stars 11-year-old British actor Barney Clark as Oliver and Ben Kingsley as Fagan.

"Oliver Twist is a story of a boy who is swept (along) by adversity and who at the end manages to escape all the dangers. At the same time he does not lead destiny, destiny leads him," said the prolific creator of celebrated motion pictures as "Chinatown", "Rosemary's Baby" and "Tess" as well as "The Pianist".

Polanski said 19th century British literature had a very important relevance to today's universe and highlighted the period's writers' "fascination with the banal elements that influence our destiny".

"Human life is an endless series of such movements," he said.