Rosetta Review
By Athan Bezaitis
Rosetta, played by newcomer Emilie Dequenne, is a seventeen year-old adolescent suffering through a miserable life in Seraing, Belgium. She lives in a trailer park with an alcoholic mother who prostitutes herself for booze and food. Her home barely has running water and cannot even provide shelter from the cold wind. Despite her horrid circumstances, the film chronicles her incredible perseverance and strength as she attempts to get a job that will provide food and rent money for her desolate family to survive.
The film's production is primarily at fault for its failure. Subtitled in English, several key scenes have white backgrounds, which make the writing on the screen illegible. Unless you speak French, you'll have no clue as to what is being said. Also, the film never explains the significance of Rosetta's perplexing stomach ailment, which plagues her whenever she expresses any strong emotions. These crucial blunders, coupled with the poor handheld photography, spoil Emilie Dequenne's performance, which resonates as the only bright spot of the whole film.
This is one that should be avoided if you're a movie hound looking for kicks this holiday season. But if you insist on seeing it, I don't recommend eating cheese-filled pastries right before, like I did.
Facts and Figures
Year: 1999
Run time: 95 mins
In Theaters: Wednesday 22nd September 1999
Distributed by: USA Films
Reviews
Contactmusic.com: 1 / 5
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Fresh: 24 Rotten: 3
IMDB: 7.5 / 10
Cast & Crew
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Producer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Laurent Petin, Michele Petin
Screenwriter: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
Starring: Émilie Dequenne as Rosetta, Anne Yernaux as Mère, Fabrizio Rongione as Riquet, Olivier Gourmet as Patron
Also starring: Emilie Dequenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Laurent Petin, Michele Petin