I don't recall expressing what you would exactly call "support" for the Oscar-winning film director and pedophile-on-the-lam. "Irritation" was the most charitable word I could conjure as I reflected on the sympathy shown for Roman Polanski by some Hollywood types, a few columnists, and the French, following his arrest by Swiss authorities in September on an outstanding warrant stemming from his flight from justice in the 1970s over charges that he drugged and raped a 13-year-old girl in Los Angeles.

But now that he has been released from prison and is enjoying, er, suffering under home confinement at his chalet in Gstaad, Polanski reveals that the outpouring of sympathy has actually been "overwhelming." I guess not everyone agreed with my take. Polanski transmitted his appreciation to supporters via French philosopher Bernard-Henri Levy, the director's friend and chief apologist, who posted the letter exclusively at The Huffington Post, which has been a favorite outlet for Levy and Polanski.

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Here is what Polanski wrote:

My dear Bernard-Henri Lévy, what you have said in the Swiss press is true -- I have been overwhelmed by the number of messages of support and sympathy I have received in Winterthur prison, and that I continue to receive here, in my chalet in Gstaad, where I am spending the holidays with my wife and my children.

These messages have come from my neighbors, from people all over Switzerland, and from beyond Switzerland -- from across the world. I would like every one of them to know how heartening it is, when one is locked up in a cell, to hear this murmur of human voices and of solidarity in the morning mail. In the darkest moments, each of their notes has been a source of comfort and hope, and they continue to be so in my current situation.

I would like to be able to answer all of them. But it is impossible: there are too many. Do you have any suggestions as to how I could reply? Perhaps in your journal, La Règle du jeu, which has supported me from the very first day? Perhaps you could disseminate these few words I'm sending you? I don't know. I'll leave it up to you.

Happy holidays to you and yours -- and, through you, to all of these unknown friends whom I am discovering day after day, and who have helped me so much.

My warmest regards,

Roman Polanski

My reaction was along the lines of Cathy Grossman's over at USA Today: "There's something about film legend/convicted sexual abuser Roman Polanski's thank you letter to supporters that just hits me badly today. I think it's the line about how grateful he is to hear from folks 'here, in my chalet in Gstaad.' "

Polanski was transferred Dec. 4 to house arrest from a Swiss jail after more than 60 days of detention. He wears an ankle monitoring bracelet but can receive guests, make telephone calls and send e-mails. Levy has also said Polanski is busy editing his latest film, "Ghost." Swiss authorities have said they will decide early next year whether to extradite him to the United States.

Will this latest letter from Polanski help his cause? I wasn't expecting De Profundis but I have to say that the mental images of Polanski basking in ski sweaters on a sunny chalet deck while lazily dipping tidbits into a fondue pot don't seem conducive to appeals for amnesty.


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