Rosetta (Dardenne brothers, 1999)

[fizz]

Rosetta
Dardenne brothers | Belgium | 1999
95 min

Deadline to post your review: 25 September, 2009
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[animatedude]

the scene where the bus flies over the bridge is just unbelievable..

[kaytee]

I'm not into reviews coz I really can't write but because it is the 25th on my watch here are my comments.

Let me first get this out of the way, I don't like Dardenne Bros type of films. Ok I only have seen The Child and now Rosetta and I don't understand the fascination. Both films are about people trying to survive on the harsh streets of France or whatever city they are. He uses close ups and camera following main character shots to get us involved in Rosetta's life but that is just distracting and induces headaches.

Yes she is poor and she has it tough in life and to actually show that on screen is commendable but come on, what is with all the senti crap. Who the hell doesn't have it tough in life? Everyone is struggling for something and to get somewhere in life, I don't need a reminder from the Dardennes about it.

Enough of ranting, the acting though is pretty solid all around and the movie could have ended a bit sooner but an average watch for me.

[fizz]

Rosetta is a critique on our need for money and a stable job that insures we keep getting our fix of the things we need. In the Dardenne's equally resonant The Child, the directors showed us the depths to which a needy husband/father would sink to - sell his own child. In The Promise, a film about a child who discovered his fathers lies in keeping his business of housing illegal immigrants running, they explored the duality of loss of innocence and the realisation of money being the cause (though not necessarily the root) of evil. Their films aren't very cheery, but they also don't seem to carry the pretentious pessimism of American arthouse cinema.

Rosetta is powerfully packed in an astute 90 minutes. Its starts off slow, aimless and maddeningly frustratatingly. Its at this point that it either hooks you or it doesn't. The title character is not likeable, she seems to be self-centered, rude and resentful of human affection - but she remains admirable by way of her singular determination, the willingness to survive on the streets of this Belgian town. The character has been compared by some to Lee Marvin in Point Blank (or Mel Gibson from Payback for that matter) and just like them, while I couldn't commend the morality of any of her actions or some of the things she did, I could certainly commend her piercing will power. I have rarely felt the anguish of a character on screen - physically, psychologically, emotionally, the way I did Rosetta's.

To many of us, our work defines us. It gives us not just meaning and dignity, but a way of climbing up society's ladder, perhaps a purpose and a way to focus our efforts and energy into being productive members of society. If you don't agree with this then you've never been jobless because no matter how much you try to convince someone that it was not your fault that you got laid off, in their mind, it was - you are incompetent and to be blamed for the situation that got you here and no matter what you might say to them, it will always be laced in shame, guilt or embarassment. That is essentially Rosetta's life, everyday. The first time I saw Rosetta, I was a few months into joblessness. The second time I saw it, I was a few months into a new job. Both viewings had the same effect on me and my opinions about the film remained just as strong - that this was a savagely unsentimental slice of life. There is one word that described Rosetta (both film and character) - determined. Gordon Gekko might just have had Rosetta in mind when he said , "Give me guys that are poor, smart and hungry, and have no feelings."

"Your name is Rosetta. My name is Rosetta. You've found a job. I've found a job. You have a friend. I have a friend. You have a normal life. I have a normal life. You won't fall into the rut. I won't fall into the rut."

The film has noticeable potency, from the hypnotic opening to the heart thumping last few minutes. Darren Aranofsky owes a lot to the Daredenne's for the look, feel, composition and filmaking style of the his Wrestler, (both films begin mid way into a normal working day, both films end, almost abruptly some would say, into the most pivotal moment on screen, an oft used Daredennes technique - because life does go on even after we think the films last scene has ended), but then so does Ramin Bahrani for his films that intimately expose on the hardships of underpriviledged life. As a character, we realise that for Rosetta, works seems to redeem her, almost. This is not the kind of character you can like, but certainly relate to and probably admire for her painstaking ability to try and rise from her levels of undignified existense. At beginning of the film, we see her scuffle to hold on to a job she is not wanted in. She betrays the only friend she makes because beyond friendship, affection or any other human need, she wants, nay, has to survive.

The intensity of the third act in the film, like it was with the motorcycle chases in both The Child and The Promise, is penetratingly raw and transfixing. The Dardenne's seems to feature a scene where a motorcycle plays a pivotal role in all their films - it is the harbinger of change, or doom, but a harbinger nonetheless.

At the end of the film you are confronted with a question - what would you do if you were put into Rosetta's situation; beg for sustenance or stab a potential friend in the back. No really? What would YOU do. You really don't know the answer to that because none of us have been in that position. The film is extremely unsentimental but has a massive emotional core. The Daredenne's remove all semblence of movie world fantasy with their extreme closeups and the performance is Émilie Dequenne is one of the best I have seen from a female.

Again, that last scene is something that shattered me both times that I saw the film. It is intense, raw and like nothing I've ever experienced before. What did you feel at the end of the film? Did you see hope? Did you see dispair? I saw a change coming, I saw hope.

Rating: 5/5

[kaytee]

Nice review Fizz, well that last scene is intense and we being humans will only see hope in the future unless we down in the dumps and depressed and cant see others to be happy. For me the most powerful scene of the movie was when she was in two minds whether she should save her only friend from drowning or not. I was like she aint that evil and then she has doubts about it and I was like hell she is evil but eventually it all worked out. She wanted his job but not that bad enough to kill him.

[ayaa1977]

Unlike Kaytee, I enjoyed this slice of life film and in a strange way I found somehow inspirational. Rosetta's determination, pride, work ethics, survival, and toughness are admirable. She would have easily taking the easy way by selling her body, like her mother does, begging or stealing. But she want to rise above her circumstances and climb the social ladder, she just need a break, but no one cares to give her one. Until Riquet comes to the picture and offers her a friendly hand, for the first time in her life, perhaps, she has a friend who cares for her genuinely without asking for anything in return.

It seemed odd to me at first that the film didn't even hint about sexual motivation from his part, and if he even has so much as a crush on her it certainly was not apparent. I guess he also wanted a friend. That lack of any selfish motivation from him played a great part in magnifying the betrayal inflected on him by Rosetta.

That act of betrayal puts the audience in the hot seat and the core of the dilemma that we are faced with. Rosetta is a difficult girl, rude and brash, she only care about her ambition, as simple and realistic as it is, and for all her flaws she gain a great deal of sympathy from us, not only that, she also becomes a mellower person and somehow likeable. So when she becomes that close to us, suddenly she stab her best and only friend in the back, after a first failed attempt which seemed ambiguous, and when she does that, suddenly she fells from her high horse and lose all her credibility, or does she? This is our dilemma right here, do we judge her so quickly, or do we acknowledge that while what she did is deplorably wrong, we can't truly put ourselves on her shoes. The kind of disparity she lives in the majority of the viewers will not face in their lifetime, hence we should not really write her off as a bad person.

Of course by the end of the film her true goodness shines again and her guilt and need for atonement makes her give up the one thing that she fought so hard to gain her entire life, and the film ends on a hopeful note, perhaps she didn't lose everything just yet.

It is a touching story without being sentimental, and it is also though provoking. The acting was superb from the lead Émilie Dequenne. Fabrizio Rongione who played Riquet did a commendable job. The small scale of the film and the way it was shot reflected the tone of the film perfectly, and now I want to see more of the Dardenne's work. I give it 4/5.           

[ayaa1977]

For me the most powerful scene of the movie was when she was in two minds whether she should save her only friend from drowning or not. I was like she aint that evil and then she has doubts about it and I was like hell she is evil but eventually it all worked out. She wanted his job but not that bad enough to kill him.

Yeah that was a very tense scene that we weren't really sure what she would do. Bear in mind that we didn't know then that his fall is perhaps not entirely accidental.

[madali]

Rosetta (Dardenne brothers, 1999)
IMDB Link

Rosetta has a shitty life. She does not have a job, can’t find one, and when she does find one, she usually gets fired for reasons that are not her own. Her mother is an alcoholic and a trump. She lives in a trailer park. Rosetta does not seem to have any way out of this life, but she refuses to give in to it. She is angry at her situation, angry at her mother, angry at the world, and angry at herself, and she approaches every situation with this anger, this ferociousness that seems to indicate that she refuses to lose, even if she is given a bad set of cards in her life.

 Film does not try to make Rosetta very sympathetic by making her a sweet, lovely angelic girl having a tough life to make us go, “aww”. Rosetta is angry and like most angry people, she is unpleasant. She is mean and rude to the very few people around her, and while it is understandable, it does not make her any more likable. I know, I would not want to hang around her. Too much baggage.

I think films like this have a law of diminishing return. I have seen enough ultra-realistic films about hard lives for it to seem a bit repetitive. Rosetta has a hard life, bad things happen to her, there is very little dialogue, and slow pacing. Seen that already. Also, what’s more, and what really gets on my nerve, is the camera work. It is almost always zoomed in on Rosetta’s face or moving behind her. It becomes a bit claustrophobic. Maybe that feeling was intended but it is not an intention I desired.

2/5

[kaytee]

Finally I have someone on my side.

[ayaa1977]

Finally I have someone on my side.

What're you talking about KT, it is 2 for 2 against. It is not like you were crushed by the enthusiastic crowd 

[animatedude]

25 min into the movie and i can't take it anymore,should i pass?

[ayaa1977]

Tough it up! don't be a quitter.

[animatedude]

oh dear me....i've just skipped through this crap.character study my ass,Fizz be damned.

now get this...Rosetta won the Golden Palm in 1999,1999 yes.

BOYCOTT.

[ayaa1977]

You are yet again off by a whole month. You are supposed to see Slacker this month and submit your review tomorrow.

[shariqq]

Sorry for being so late. I finally saw it - just finished watching it, and was won over completely. Brilliant performance by the lead actress, wonderful telling of the few days of Rosetta's life and a heart-wrenching closing shot/scene. Wow. Hopefully more once I'm at my desk tomorrow.

My rating --> 4.5 of 5