'An officer and spy' trivia and fun facts
The problems with French authorities
France's Equality minister Marlene Schiappa said that she would not see the film, a sentiment seconded by President Emmanuel Macron's spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye. Culture minister Franck Riester said that Polanski's past actions should be taken into account moving forward. "A work, however great it is, does not excuse the possible mistakes of its author. Talent is not a mitigating circumstance; genius, not a guarantee of impunity," he said. However, Prime minister Edouard Philippe said he would go see the film with his children as it touches on an important event in France's history.
The budget
The budget was about EUR 22 million ($25.3 million) according to Variety
Big budget
'The Officer and the Spy' is produced by Gaumont and has a budget of approximately 22 million euros, which is one of the filmmaker's most expensive films.
Together again
Mathieu Amalric and Emmanuelle Seigner previously appeared together in La escafandra y la mariposa (2007), La venus de las pieles (2013) and Van Gogh, a las puertas de la eternidad (2018).
The best opening for Polanski in years
The film had the strongest opening for Polanski in France in years with 386,000 tickets sold across 545 screens. In its first week of release it topped the box-office charts and sold over 501,000 tickets (545 screens) and in its second week it fell to a respectable fourth place, bringing its two week total to 887,000 seats filled. For comparison: His 2003 Oscar winner The Pianist sold 1.8 million tickets during its whole run, 2013's Venus in Fur topped out at 264,000 tickets.
Venice Film Festival
The film participated in the Official Competition Section of the Venice Film Festival.
Based on a book
The film is based on Robert Harris' book 'An officer and a spy', published in 2013.