“Chinatown” A film noir in which a filmmaker who has seen Inferno on earth confronts his own trauma *Note! Contains spoilers.

*This article touches on the ending of the story, so we recommend watching the movie before reading it.

"Chinatown" synopsis

The setting is Los Angeles in the 1930s. Private investigator Jake Gittes is asked by a woman who calls herself ``Mrs. Moray'' to investigate her husband, a dam construction engineer, having an affair. However, for some reason, a photograph taken of her husband's affair is published in the newspaper, and another Mrs. Moray appears in front of Gittes. In fact, the first Mrs. Moray was a fake, and she was the real Mrs. Moray. Gittes tries to get to the bottom of the incident on his own, but gets caught up in a big conspiracy involving water rights...

Index

• Two tragedies struck Polanski
• A dark noir written after accepting a $175,000 offer.
• Shadow of a murdered wife and mother
• What does “Evelyn’s Eye” represent?

Two tragedies struck Polanski

“I grew up seeing Inferno on earth.”

Roman Polanski once made the following comment: Born in Paris, France in 1933, his family moved to Poland when he was young. However, with the outbreak of World War II, he became a target of persecution due to widespread anti-Jewish policies, and spent his childhood in a Jewish residential area in Krakow. Polanski, a young boy who is not yet very young, sees countless deaths and violence burned into his eyes.

Eventually, with his father's guidance, he escapes from the isolated living quarters. He survives the Inferno while hiding from the Nazis and moving from place to place. However, her mother was forcibly taken to Auschwitz and slaughtered by the Germans. Moreover, a new life was living in that womb. It will be deeply engraved in his heart as an intense trauma.

After the war, Polanski entered film school. He made his directorial debut with `` Knife in the Water '' (1962), won the Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for `` Repulsion '' (1965), and won the Golden Bear Award for `` Desac-Sac '' (1966). His first American production, `` Rosemary's Baby '' (1968), commissioned by Hollywood, was also a huge hit. Polanski, who made his name as a film director, married actress Sharon Tate and settled in Los Angeles.

Happy days filled with both work and private life. However, the tragedy repeats itself again. While Tate was in London on business, the Manson Family cult broke into his home and Tate was brutally murdered. She was 8 months pregnant at the time. He loses not only his mother but also his pregnant wife to unreasonable violence.

Exhausted, Polanski leaves Los Angeles and relocates his activities to Europe. To him, this place was nothing but a demonic cave where his hideous past was brought back to life. A few years later, he received an offer from Hollywood to direct a film called ``Chinatown'' (1974).

"Chinatown" preview

The setting is Los Angeles in the 1930s. This is a Raymond Chandler-style film noir about detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson), who is asked to investigate an affair, but before he knows it, he becomes embroiled in a conspiracy involving water rights. However, accepting the offer for ``Chinatown'' meant returning to Los Angeles (Hollywood), where his beloved wife was brutally murdered, and filming a movie set in Los Angeles.

What's more, Gittes used to be a police officer in the Chinatown area, but he was unable to protect the woman he loved, so he retired from the police force and left the hideous place. Just like Polanski, who was unable to protect his beloved wife and left Los Angeles. ``Chinatown'' is a film in which a filmmaker who has seen Inferno on earth confronts his own trauma.

*: “World Filmmakers 13 Roger Vadim Roman Polanski” (Kinema Junposha)