Rosetta (1999)

Young and impulsive Rosetta lives with her alcoholic mother and, moved by despair, she will do anything to maintain a job.

Directors:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Stars:

Émilie Dequenne, Fabrizio Rongione, Anne Yernaux

9 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Émilie Dequenne	...	Rosetta
Fabrizio Rongione	...	Riquet
Anne Yernaux	...	The Mother
Olivier Gourmet	...	The Boss
Bernard Marbaix	...	The Campgrounds Manager
Frédéric Bodson	...	The Head of Personnel
Florian Delain	...	The Boss's Son
Christiane Dorval	...	First Saleswoman
Mireille Bailly	...	Second Saleswoman
Thomas Gollas	...	The Mother's Boyfriend
Leon Michaux	...	First Policeman (as Léon Michaux)
Victor Marit	...	Second Policeman
Colette Regibeau	...	Madame Riga
Claire Tefnin	...	Girl in Locker Room
Sophia Leboutte	...	Fired Woman

Storyline

The first scene, like almost all others, is a fighting scene. A girl, about 18, is sacked from her factory work because her trial period is over. The girl, Rosetta, is quite upset and the cops will have to arrive to get her out. She has her reasons: she lives in a caravan, with her alcoholic mother. She goes looking for work as some go to the war. Treasons, murders are in her mind, if not in her acts.

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Plot Keywords:

teenage girl | selfishness | fishing | attempted suicide | character name as title | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Official Sites:

fsk Kino & Peripher Filmverleih GmbH (distributor) (german) [Germany]

Country:

France Belgium

Language:

French

Release Date:

22 September 1999 (Belgium)

Also Known As:

Rozeta

Filming Locations:

Liège, Wallonia, Belgium

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,187, 7 November 1999, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$261,475, 30 January 2000

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARP Sélection, Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.

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Quotes

Rosetta: Your name is Rosetta. My name is Rosetta. You found a job. I found a job. You've got a friend. I've got a friend. You have a normal life. I have a normal life. You won't fall in a rut. I won't fall in a rut. Good night. Good night.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Instinct/The Loss of Sexual Innocence/Limbo (1999)

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Soundtracks

Something New

User Reviews

It's a hard life -- crude and bitter medicine: harsh poverty unabashedly delivered and desperation complete

This is beyond the intensity of Gary Oldman's "Nil By Mouth", and Tim Roth's "The War Zone", while Erick Zonca's "Dreamlife of Angels" seems heavenly compared to the conditions presented in "Rosetta" by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne.

A down right harsh film. Unsparingly direct depiction of a young girl's poverty struggle. She is as tough as she can be. She fights vigorously to hang on to a job. She cares for her mother, a helpless alcoholic, and a seamstress when not drunk. Rosetta (Emilie Dequenne) is unrelentingly stubborn about receiving kindness, or food unsolicited. She has her dignity. A young person with so much burden on her shoulder and a heavy heart.

Things may be seemingly repetitive: again and again we see her crossing that traffic roadway, jumping into the bush trail; we hear the rustling leaves, the thumping of her footsteps; we watch her stopping by the hideout where she kept her rubber boots, changing her only good pair of working shoes; we follow her as she crawls through the wire fence loophole, arriving at the campers -- feels like a mindless routine. Yet, she's intensely single-minded on getting "a real job" (vs. moonlighting) and to have "a normal life", not to "fell into a rut". At one point, we can almost be happy for her to have "found a friend" in Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), a waffle street van vendor. She actually was able to peacefully sleep that night. Only to wake up and report at work to be told she's again out of a job. A devastating blow. Out of desperation, she did something that most of us viewers may not be able to comprehend -- but what do we know of her travails, who are we to judge her action?

It was not easy for her to have done what she did -- she did hesitate and took the risk. She risked her newfound friendship -- she desperately needed "to have a job". In a way, she has lack tenderness, love and warmth for so long that she's numb to human kindness -- she needs to be thawed! One has to be patient with her, to give her time and see through her tough surface and rekindle her heart. Trust needs to be rebuilt for her to continue living and tackle difficulties afresh!

This is no Hollywood fare. Dialogs are few. No exploitative, explosive, abusive scenes. We're given the bare structure of the story, and Rosetta, plus the sparing few supporting characters, held the movie steadily intact.