Ajit Rai

Roman Polanski's new film 'The Palace' makes a mockery of the obscene wealth spread across the world at Egypt's sixth Al Gouna Film Festival. At the age of 90, the work of the world’s greatest Filmmaker is a black comedy through which he takes the audience into the darkness of the lives of rich people ans makes them laugh.

Exactly like Sweden's Ruben Oslund's film 'Triangle of Sadness'. This 100-minute film is the story of rich people from who have gathered from all over the world gathering to celebrate the Millennium New Year's Eve on 31 December 1999 at 'The Palace', the largest luxury five-star hotel located in the Alps mountains of Switzerland. It’s At that time the prediction was that the world was going to end.

This film had its world premiere at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 2 September 2023. Because Roman Polanski was accused of sexual harassment by several women, his film faced massive protests in Venice.

Venice Film Festival head Alberto Barbera defended Polanski, saying, "I can't understand why people can't differentiate between Polanski the human being and Polanski the artist. Roman Polanski is one of the few master filmmakers. He is still active at the age of 90 and this may be his last film.

It is true that in 1977, Roman Polanski was arrested in America on charges of having illegal sex with a 13-year-old underage girl, and a year later, in 1978, he fled to Europe.

A scene from The Palace

Till now he is a fugitive of the American court. In 2018, after the # MeToo campaign gained momentum, the Oscar Award Committee cancelled his membership. The effect of all this was that he and his films faced tremendous opposition all over the world.

Born in a Jewish family, Roman Polanski was orphaned at the age of six because his mother was killed by Hitler's Nazi army in a concentration camp and his father was imprisoned. He was suspended from school because of his religion and he saved his life by becoming a Catholic Christian. His pregnant wife Sharon Tate was murdered by Manson Family hippies while he was shooting in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, in 1969. Its reference is also found in Quentin Tarantino's film 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'. 

His film 'The Pianist' (2002) is today considered a world classic, for which he received the Oscar Award for Best Director and the Best Film at the Cannes Film Festival. He also received the Palme d'Or award.

Preparations are going on for the biggest New Year party of the year at 'The Palace' hotel. Hotel manager Hansueli Kaf and his staff are preparing to welcome billionaires coming from all over the world. 

Among the guests are Bongo, a retired porn star from Italy, and Dr. Lima, a famous plastic surgeon, with his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The wonders of this doctor's plastic surgery can be seen on the faces of many guests. There is an elderly billionaire woman, Marquise de la Val, is an elderly billionaire woman who loves her dog more than humans. At the age of 90, Arthur William Dallas, an American billionaire, has come to celebrate his first wedding anniversary with his wife Magnolia, 70 years younger than him.

People are whispering about this couple because of their huge age difference. Another billionaire Bill Crush has come from Texas, America. he wants the hotel manager to give him a suite which he has not even booked. . Meanwhile, Anton, a suspected Russian mafia billionaire, enters the hotel with his bodyguards, friends, and female escorts, carrying four huge suitcases. Hotel manager Hansueli Kaf gives him an underground room in the hotel that has been lying vacant for years to keep these suitcases safe and also hands him the only key. During all this, Russian people listen to a live speech on television by Russian President Boris Yeltsin in which he announces his resignation and says that Vladimir Putin will be the next leader of Russia.

Poster of The Palace

Taking advantage of the 'Millennium Bug' (Y2K bug), Texas billionaire Bill Crush wants to double his wealth by luring a Swiss bank employee Kaspar Tell with a huge bribe. This amount of bribes is so huge that Kaspar Tell can instantly become rich. While both of them working on the deal, a young man from Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, appears with his wife and two daughters and claims that he is the son of Bill Crush. 

Crush flatly refuses to accept him as his son and doesn't meet him. Hotel manager Hansueli Kaf is forced to shelter the Czech man and his family in a place in the hotel where his rich guests cannot see.

Meanwhile, the Marquise Della Vale's dog falls ill and she is ready to sacrifice all his wealth to save it. Dr. Lima treats his dog. The doctor also has to treat pornstar Bongo who has broken his nose while skiing.

The real story begins when American billionaire Arthur William Dallas dies after taking a double dose of Viagra a few hours before midnight while celebrating his first wedding anniversary with his wife Magnolia. Not only this, his penis gets stuck in his wife's vagina. With great difficulty, his wife comes out of this strange situation with the help of the hotel manager. Dallas has ordered a live penguin as an anniversary gift for his wife. According to his legal will, Magnolia can inherit his vast wealth only if she completes one year of marriage. There are still a few hours left for the completion of one year. She requests the hotel manager Hansunei Kaaf to keep her husband's death a secret until midnight so that she can get his property. The hotel manager helps her.

The Millennium Dinner has started; all the men and women are drunk. This is a gruesome scene. At midnight in the night, the celebration of the arrival of the New Year 2000 has started. The rich men and women attending this dinner party collectively perform ridiculous acts.

Just then the Russian ambassador to Switzerland arrives with his wife. He tells the Russian businessman Anton that after the change of power in Russia, it is necessary to dispose of the dollars lying in the suitcases and distribute them among all the Russians present here. The ambassador's wife has become exhausted after drinking too much alcohol and starts vomiting as soon as she sits in the car.

On the other hand, the Russian escort girls make Swiss bank employee Caspar Tell drink marijuana and while drunk, he spends a bottle of champagne worth 12,000 dollars from Bill Crush's money on them. Bill Crush suffers a heart attack. The hotel manager and his illegitimate son send him to the hospital in an ambulance.

A Scene from The Palace

When the New Year party is about to end, the Russian ambassador and Anton enter the room to distribute the money. A drunk Anton has already given the keys to the locker to the ambassador. While leaving with his share of the suitcase, he accidentally closes the door of the room and the ambassador gets trapped in it. Now they have the key but cannot open the door from inside.

Anton stumbles into the hotel manager's office under the influence of alcohol and tells him that the Russian ambassador has been locked in the room. A duplicate key is required to remove them. The hotel manager is tired of solving the stupid problems of his rich guests all day long. He flatly refuses.

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In the final scene, waste from the dinner party is scattered in the hotel auditorium. The drunk guests are rolling to their rooms. The last guest, Swiss bank employee Caspar Tell, stumbles out of the hotel dressed as a clown and drunk. In the auditorium at the dinner party, the late Dallas' Mangalvaya Penguin is dancing alone, as if making a sickening mockery of this obscene wealth.