The Palace

2023

1h 40m

Comedy

Drama

List

10%

20 Reviews

Tomatometer

68%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

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Igor M

Funny and original with a huge distance to everything - The Palace shows the comedy genius of Polanski, not often appreciated.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/06/24

Full Review

Raul G

Hacía mucho tiempo que no me reía tanto. Me hizo revivir todo el delirio del fin de siglo, las teorías sobre el fin del mundo, la interminable galería de rosotros monstruosos provocados por la cirugía plástica, la cultura del derroche y la ostentación de los nuevos ricos, la decadencia. Muy buenos gags, sostenidos en la sutileza de los gestos y las situaciones. Otra muestra de la versatilidad de Polanski para contar historias.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/03/24

Full Review

Diana K

It kind of surprises me that many people see in this movie is a slapstick, definitely not smart or somehow important. From a bit different perspective, this movie talks about whats truly wrong with our century: it shows the roots of atrocities we are witnessing now, few decades later in the 21 century. And it does it with great humor. In a fancy hotel, which implies our world, you can see representatives of the Western countries thinking about dogs poop and those of Eastern getting drunk and fighting for their selfish interests. And all of that while watching the rise of Putin just like some soap opera in the background. Nobody cared, that's the truth. And the only human element, which are cousins from the Check Republic, is being dismissed. A great movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/01/24

Full Review

chamidu a

The film is very good. It is shot in one location(The Gstaad Palace in Switzerland here) like many of Polanski's films. Both Mickey Rourke and Oliver Masucci are great here. Many renowned actors working today would fall flat on their face if they tried to play these two characters. Who better to be rude to everything and everyone around him than Mickey Rourke? But his character has depth here. He is very warm and very friendly with the Bank Manager character. Clearly Rourke is one of the most talented actors of his generation. His face certainly looks very different than what it once was but it fits in with the character and doesn't detract from the quality of his performance. The film has minor flaws like some hideous exterior shots of the hotel and the final frame is certainly not great especially when taken out of context. But I was never bored and there is always something going on(tracking shots through hallways, constant use of red and green in the frame and an outstanding first scene). Apart from the two leads newcomer Bronwyn James also stood out. She stole every scene away from the great John Cleese when they were together especially before he ultimately went to his happy place. It is not among the best of Polanski but easily better than most well rated films out there mainly because they don't have a master like Polanski behind the wheel

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/26/24

Full Review

Adam C

Film Money listen up: next time someone pitches you a film, put aside the reputations of the talent attached and READ the script all the way through, okay? Don't just say to yourself, "Well, it's got Polanski and Cleese and Ardant, so… yeah!" READ! If it's nothing more than a collection of separate silos of self-contained stories with only the Man In Charge running around frantically trying to keep Armageddon from happening, then it's all been overdone many times before and it's not worth putting your good money behind bad. Sadly, Daddy Warbucks didn't read the script for "The Palace"; he just forked over more than $18,000,000 based on the Polanski-Cleese-Ardant package and never looked back. If he had, he would have seen an atrocity on film. A murder of reputations. A tragedy of a comedy. In short, an embarrassment. I noticed on Rotten Tomatoes that critics gave this film a 0%, while viewers gave it a 65%. If ever there was a time to fear that these viewers are the same people wildly entertained by the fictional TV series "Ow, My Balls!" featured in the film "Idiocracy," now is that time. If you don't heed my advice, the next thing you know we'll all be faced with "Dude, Where's My Car 2: Lost At the Mall," and it will have a one hundred million dollar production budget.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/24

Full Review

alan b

I completely loved every minute of it. An awesome qwerty comedy with a too soon ending. y2k bug!! The Great Roman Polanski is back.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/17/24

Full Review

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Roman Polański

Director

Roman Polanski

Director

Oliver Masucci

Hansueli

Fanny Ardant

Constance Rose Marie de La Valle

John Cleese

Arthur William Dallas III

Bronwyn James

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Philip De Semlyen

Time Out

Roman Polanski's Eurotrash hotel farce is an absolute stinker.

Sep 5, 2023

Full Review

Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

An eye-scorching atrocity that is instantly one of the most egregious film-making failures of the year, possibly even the decade.

Rated: 0/5

Sep 3, 2023

Full Review

Ben Croll

TheWrap

The director’s changing circumstance feels directly relevant to the cast he could assemble for this humorless black comedy, and to the build of unyielding grotesquery that makes the film feel like a giant middle finger to the world.

Sep 2, 2023

Full Review

Randy Meeks

Espinof

There is a terrible lack of character arcs and controlled chaos that would have added color to the film, but, all things considered, some of the film's gags more or less work, even if by sheer accumulation. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 2/5

Apr 29, 2024

Full Review

Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

The Palace is perhaps the biggest final debacle of a cinema giant in all of history. [Full review in Spanish]

Apr 26, 2024

Full Review

Toni Vall

Cinemanía (Spain)

The most unexpected film of recent times.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 24, 2024

Full Review

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Director: Roman Polański, Roman Polanski
Screenwriter: Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska, Jerzy Skolimowski, Ewa Piaskowska, Roman Polanski
Production Co: CAB Productions, EP Productions, RAI Cinema
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Italian
Runtime: 1h 40m