One of the first magazines to always look for festival film reviews is the British magazine The Guardian. The Guardian’s critic awards the palace one star out of five.
“You need a strong drink to be able to watch the new Roman Polanski movie,” he writes. “But it may also take a few drinks to relieve the pain.” The 90-year-old director’s latest (last?) production, which screened at the Venice Film Festival out of competition, is a grisly, hollow hotel farce that begins with a conversation about Armageddon and ends with a dog having sex with a penguin. .
The Mansion is a Nightmare: vulgar and devoid of any sense of humor. You can see that Polanski is angry at the world and the people he shows us. But more importantly, this movie is not a satire. It’s more than just a laugh at the worst party in town…
The time on the screen is close to midnight. Drunken millionaires fall face down into bowls of caviar, vomit in limousines, and piss on Christmas lights. Meanwhile, Venetian moviegoers are already beginning to force their way to the door. One by one, as if they were fighting for their lives. They will not see the fireworks and the tragic Clays in a wheelchair. It also means that they will miss the last shot (a dog mating with a penguin). Full of contempt, the old master’s last painting Leads to rows of empty chairs.
