Madame Rosa (1977)
"La vie devant soi" (original title)

Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and... See full summary »

Director:

Moshé Mizrahi

Writers:

Romain Gary (novel), Moshé Mizrahi (adaptation)

Stars:

Simone Signoret, Michal Bat-Adam, Samy Ben-Youb

Won 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Simone Signoret	...	Madame Rosa
Michal Bat-Adam	...	Nadine
Samy Ben-Youb	...	Momo
Gabriel Jabbour	...	M. Hamil
Geneviève Fontanel	...	Maryse
Bernard La Jarrige	...	Louis Charmette - un retraité SNCF (as Bernard Lajarrige)
Mohamed Zinet	...	Kadir Youssef
Elio Bencoil	...	Moïse
Stella Annicette	...	Madame Lola
El Kebir	...	Mimoun
Ibrahim Seck	...	N'Da Ameder
Math Samba	...	Walloumba
Claude Dauphin	...	Docteur Katz
Théo Légitimus	...	M. Boro
Nadia Samir

Storyline

Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and her favorite, an Algerian lad whom she raises as a Muslim. He asks about his parents; she answers evasively. As she ages and takes fewer children, Momo must do more for her; as money is tight, he tries to earn pennies on the street with a puppet. He's a beautiful man-child, and Madame Rosa makes him promise never to sell himself or become a pimp. A film editor, Nadine, befriends him, and his father appears as well. Madame Rosa reaches her last days in fear of hospitals, and Momo must act.

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | children | pigalle | father | childhood | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

19 March 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Madame Rosa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lira Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

105 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of La vie devant soi (2010)

User Reviews

touching

for me, it is special. because it represents almost a slice of memories. madame Rosa has many faces. she is silhouette of many persons. and fantastic art of Simone Signoret gives new powerful nuances to an old portrait. story of an old woman and a boy. the lady can be a grandmother or aunt but, in this case, she is only a single pray of time. the boy, if you has a little courage in sauce of imagination, he is you. in moments of old age. sure, the theme is not new. but the work of Gary novel, art of Moshe Mizrahi, the colors of a universe out of reasonable limits, the dialogs and the looks, all is unique. it is recipes of a life lesson. but, in same measure, it remains a confession. to yourself, viewer of an alternative existence, touching story who may be yours.