I've never been a fan of Roman Polanski, but know the name of the mythical film director through stories told in the media over the years. Besides Rosemary's Baby -- which I didn't realize was Polanski's film -- I don't think I ever seen any of his movies.

A 2008 documentary on the controversial director -- who fled the US years back to keep from being thrown in jail for having sex with a 13 year old girl -- popped up in the "you might like these" movies on Netflix a few weeks back and I thought it was time to see what this guy was all about. I glad I did. The movie is excellent.

On March 11, 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in Los Angeles and charged with the following counts: furnishing a controlled substance to a minor, committing a lewd or lascivious act on a child, unlawful sexual intercourse, rape by use of drugs, perversion and sodomy. Less than a year later, on February 1, 1978, Polanski drove to LAX, bought a one-way ticket to Europe, and never came back. Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired explores the implausible events that took place between these dates, along with details, before and after, that forever altered the life and career of Polanski, one of the world's most acclaimed directors.

The film re-examines the notorious California case involving Polanski, the world's most celebrated director at the time, whose life already read like the script of one of his most tragic, brutal films. Polanski lost both his Polish parents during WWII, but rose to become a star filmmaker in Poland, England and, later, the U.S. His storybook love affair with Sharon Tate ended with her 1969 murder at the hands of followers of Charles Manson; she was eight months pregnant. Surviving the tragedy and press firestorm accompanying it, Polanski rebuilt his career in the 1970s - until he made a fateful mistake during a 1977 photo shoot with a 13-year-old girl.

Read the full synopsis on HBO's website and watch the trailer here. If you don't know much about Polanski, the film does an amazing job at telling his life story leading up to the time of his arrest and details the trial very well.

I think his real flaw was his honesty, which America doesn't know how to deal with. If he'd played the Bill Clinton "I didn't have sexual intercourse with that woman" game, he might have faired better, but let's face it: giving quaaludes to a 13 year old girl and having sex with her isn't going to get much sympathy from anyone. Thankfully for him, he had a native land to flee to from which he couldn't be extradited back to the US to go to jail.