Rosetta (1999)

Great film, I need to rewatch Mouchette for a comparison.

Probably my least favorite of their work but a masterpiece nonetheless. The last shot is among the finest I've ever seen.

A film that continually details the fundamental survival qualities of the title character—a basic premise infusing her ability to cope and her morality. I like to think of Rosetta as the anti-Citizen Kane. The conclusion of both films focuses on the resolute failure of placing the value of economic determinism and its perceived happiness over the more humanistic pursuit of the joys, wants, and basic needs of the human condition. Rosetta however comes at this conflict from the most basic, sparse end of the spectrum—one that more people should be able to relate to.



Often compared to Robert Bresson’s Mouchette, Rosetta’s conclusion is perhaps best described as “Bressonian.” In the end we see a young woman stripped of everything—at her most desperate and most defeated. Yet she has given up, thrown in the towel because of the nature of her character as opposed to the extensively defeating circumstances that she’s burdened under. Her final glance at the camera tells us how far she has been reduced. Her eyes are reaching out, unlike her past displays of anger, frustration, or selfishness, but instead with the least obstructed countenance she’s capable of offering. Just one small human cry for help—and yet it means everything.