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Rosetta
Young, impulsive Rosetta lives a hard and stressful life as she struggles to support herself and her alcoholic mother. Refusing all charity, she is desperate to maintain a dignified job.
1999 · Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne · 95 min · Drama · Screenplay in the scene database · 9 frames
Plot
When her probationary employment ends without her being hired, Rosetta (Émilie Dequenne) engages in a violent struggle against her manager and the policemen when she refuses to leave the premises. She returns home to "The Grand Canyon", the trailer park where she lives with her alcoholic mother, who mends worn clothes for Rosetta to sell to charity shops. They get into a physical struggle over her mother accepting gifts from men for sexual favours. Rosetta goes to a nearby river and lays out fish traps to poach trout for food. Unable to receive unemployment pay, refusing to take welfare, and desperate for work, Rosetta asks around for vacancies until she comes upon a waffle stand. She befriends the worker, Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), and asks the owner (Olivier Gourmet) for a job, without success. Later, Rosetta treats her period cramps with pain relievers and a hairdryer, warming her abdomen.
Riquet makes an unexpected visit to the caravan park, startling Rosetta. He informs her that a colleague was fired and that she can have the job. Her mother's promiscuity resulting from alcoholism prompts Rosetta to encourage her to visit a rehabilitation clinic. However, her mother's denial of her addiction causes a physical fight between them. Her mother runs away and leaves Rosetta to nearly drown in the river by the park. She decides to stay with Riquet for the night and inquires about renting a bed in the building. During the awkward evening, Rosetta discovers a waffle iron in his possession. He tries to get Rosetta to dance, but her period cramps put an end to it. As she lies in bed, she tries to convince herself that her life has started to function normally.
At work, she is replaced after three days by the owner's son, who failed school, leading to another emotional meltdown. Rosetta is moderately pacified when the owner tells her she will be contacted if an opportunity arises. She begins a new but fruitless search for employment and keeps Riquet company during work. He offers to pay for a waffle, but she refuses his charity.
Plot summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.
Crew
- Written by: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne
- Cinematography: Alain Marcoen
- Edited by: Marie-Hélène Dozo
- Music: Jean-Pierre Cocco
- Production design: Igor Gabriel
- Produced by: Luc Dardenne, Michèle Pétin, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Laurent Pétin
Cast
- Émilie Dequenne as Rosetta
- Olivier Gourmet as Patron
- Fabrizio Rongione as Riquet
- Anne Yernaux as Mother
- Bernard Marbaix as Campground Manager
- Frédéric Bodson as Head of Personnel
- Florian Delain as The Boss's Son
- Christiane Dorval as First Saleswoman
- Mireille Bailly as Second Saleswoman
- Thomas Gollas as Mother's Boyfriend
Production
- Country: Belgium, France
- Language: French
- Studios: Les Films du Fleuve, RTBF, ARP Sélection
- Box office: $266,665
- Themes: trailer park, fishing, socially deprived family, belgium, poverty, waffle, struggle for survival, alcoholic, unemployment, substance abuse
On this film
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