Rosetta

The Dardennes mix bleakness and hope into a human drama that uses a single young woman's struggles to gain a foothold in the working world to explore the larger themes of endemic poverty in society. What an ending, too.

about as good as the other dardennes i've seen. these brothers are the archetypal good-but-not-great directors. their arc is always the same: two or three characters clash with each other, experience some troubles, and depart on a minor emotional note. the camera moves constantly, suggesting, in a firmly unrealistic but generally engrossing manner, that emotional turmoil permeates every moment. their films are good to watch. but they're also not too interesting, significant or ambitious.

Pretty brilliant in its simplicity, Rosetta tells a convincing story of a young girl who has to struggle for her very survival, in a petit-bourgeois environment to which her employment or lack thereof doesn't seem to mean so much. Even the one boy who shows her sympathy ultimately fails to appreciate the rules Rosetta is forced to play by. The Dardennes' handheld camera often veers intimately close to their subject as they very carefully control the film's rhythm through frequent tempo changes.

An undeniably intimate performance from Dequenne, assisted by some incredibly claustrophobic camerawork; the camera grabs you by the throat and forces you to be uncomfortably close, lending the otherwise sterile cinema verite quality some much needed power. However, like in L'Enfant, something about Rosetta falls flat for me. It's deliberate, like a Bresson film, but unlike a Bresson film, the plot doesn't seem to unravel naturally. Great ending, though.

One of the Dardennes' peaks, for sure. Rosetta is a fully realized character, and the Dardennes infuse her with such energy through both the writing and the closely following camera, not to mention the fine performance from Duquenne. The desire for normalcy through work and a proper home is a universal one. The Dardennes understate Rosetta's motivations (and everyone else's), leaving people's actions mysterious. The surprising encounters that result are alternately heartbreaking and joyful.

Bresson is written all over this, most obviously in the story's similarity to Mouchette, but also in the heightened use of sound, complex moral questions, and fanatical attention to detail concerning mechanical routines. However, the Dardennes give their work an emotional intensity that Bresson shies away from, helped especially by the up-close handheld camera work. A moving and intriguing work, with a wonderful performance by Dequenne.

It's so real .. that's life !! ..

I really need a part 2 to see how it turned out with the Waffle stand. I love the waffle stand, very interested how it works

Driven by an unquenchable will for a normal existence, Rosetta reveals herself as a likeable character with clear, understandable motives and the harsh reality from which she desperately wishes to escape allows us to recognize, although not condone, her extreme behavior and questionable morals. Although their familiar formula has become stale and repetitive by now, it's nice seeing it executed so well.

Dette var helt jævlige greier. Minner litt om Mouchette, men med langt mer følelser og klare motivasjoner. Som vanlig helt nydelig kameraføring når det er snakk om Dardenne-brødrene, og en slutt som lar det være akkurat åpent nok til at den er verdt å bruke mer tid på. Le Fils neste!

Emily Dequenne captures the emotional backlash of financial turmoil but is relentless in her fight to have a normal life. The over the shoulder film technique worked well and the ending left me genuinely worried about Rosetta. Emily did an incredible job showing the audience exactly what Dardenne was going for. Emotional strife and being driven to the point of betrayal to survive. Overall, a realistic view from the gutters. Cheers.

The shots pursue Rosetta in a quick, almost brutal way, and they condense an unbearable inner rage: this poor gil, ravinshingly interpreted by Dequenne, just wants an ordinary life, a normal routine. But this modest little dream seems to be threatened by everyone, everything around her. The inconclusive finale just left me even more astonished -- I guess it's hopeful though. Devastating film.

It is not much better than i was expecting from Dardennes.

Just because a movie is filmed with a loose cam and has an arthouse feel to it, doesn't make it a good movie.

A relentlessly depressive, slow, and sometimes abrupt film with an admittedly good performance from Emilie Dequenne, but it's just way too bleak for my taste. Not that I dislike bleak films, but the way it moves reminds me too much of an episode of Springer without the crowd snaps. In Belgium.

See my review of LE SILENCE DE LORNA.

Rosetta estreava há 25 anos na Bélgica. Acho que esse é meu filme favorito dos Dardennes, inspirados por Levinas, dão a medida certa do amálgama de classe, gênero e ética dentro do capitalismo. DVD OP.

Gave me the same feeling as Oslo 31st by J Trier: at the end, I could totally feel and believe that she does what she does in the last act, exhausted by her position of anger, entrapment and being helplessly disconnected. The compassionate style in which the Dardennes bring Rosetta to life tells an almost biblical quest for love and charity, without being sentimental for a second, while at the same time telling us that we'd better be glad she's not our employee...

What's more tragic than not being able to commit suicide because you're running out of gas?

This is an intensely powerful film due partly to Dequenne's ferocious performance and partly due to the Dardennes' claustrophobic hand-held aesthetic that keeps the camera almost constantly in Dequenne's face. I loved this film.

The saddest egg in movie history. When people drown, they don't wave and splash and yell for help; they just quietly struggle harder and harder, face barely above the water, until they lack the energy to hold their head up and the waves take them.

Very good depiction of desperation with an excellent performance at the center of it. This isn't really my favorite kind of movie, but it's extremely well done and raw.

"senin adın Rosetta, benim adım Rosetta. bir iş buldun, bir iş buldum. arkadaş edindin, arkadaş edindim. normal bir hayatın var, normal bir hayatım var. boşluğa düşmeyeceksin, boşluğa düşmeyeceğim."

iş arayan genç kız. iş bulmak bu kadar güç mü yav.

2002'nin il kültünü rosetta ile açtım. yıllardır erteliyordum nihayet izledim. dardenler reyistir

Dardenneler, genç Rosetta'nın birkaç gününü takibe alırken hoş bir ton yakalayarak çok iyi yönetmenler olduklarını kanıtlıyor ve kapitalizme karşı alt kesimden başlayan sistematik bir eleştiri getiriyor.

An ugly window into the lives of an insolent backstabbing bitch and her alcoholic mother. Hard to care. Perfect example of why I generally hate modern movies, especially ones that win awards.

One of the smartest of punishingly depressing type of shaky-cam realist films the Dardennes have made a career out of. Dequenne leads a strong cast though a well-written non-plot as absolutely everything goes wrong for all the characters, which is their punishment for being working class.

This is one of the most visceral cinematic experiences of my life. In a constant state of panic! No one visualizes utter desperation like the Dardennes, and Émilie Dequenne...she is beyond sublime! What an absolutely ruthless work of art.

mouchette remade?

The Dardennes seem equally influenced by John Cassavetes and Dogme, creating a film so realistic that it catches you off-guard, so raw that you want to look away but so in your face that there's no way you can. Belgium is turned into a bleak, oppressive atmosphere, with Rosetta struggling under the weight of it all.

87.000

Probably my personal favourite of the Belgian brother's films. Rosetta's struggle is almost physically felt through the very tactile, close cinematography.

OK piece of work, but the girl (Emilie Dequenne) is stunning. Easy to watch, simple story of being at the wrong end of everthing.

Raw and extraordinary. As expected, the Dardennes pull out an astonishing portrait from Dequenne.

This is pure reality