WillSushyMedia This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Jackson Booth-Millard This French-Belgian film is one that used to feature in a version of the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, I was prepared to see it and hoping for a good one, directed by brothers Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike). Basically twenty- seven-year-old Rosetta (Émilie Dequenne) has lost her probationary employment, and following a violent confrontation, she returns home to trailer park "The Grand Canyon", shared with her alcoholic Mother (Anne Yernaux). Unable to receive unemployment pay and desperate for work, Rosetta goes around asking about vacancies in various places, then she happens upon a waffle stand, after an enquiry she makes friends with worker Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), she is experiencing period cramps. Rosetta is startled when Riquet makes an unexpected visit to the trailer park, he informs her there is a job available, as a worker was fired, she is also encouraged to tell her mother, who is promiscuous due to alcoholism, to seek a rehabilitation clinic, but the mother is in denial and runs away. Rosetta spends the night with Riquet, and tries to convince herself that her life has started to function normally, but after three days at work she is replaced by The Boss (Olivier Gourmet), this turns into another violent confrontation, but she calms down when he tells her he will call if an opportunity is available. Rosetta starts looking for employment again, and keeps Riquet company during work, she later saves him from drowning, but she also finds out he has been selling his own waffles elsewhere, Rosetta contemplates what to do, but tells the owner, she watches as Riquet is thrown out of the stand. Riquet is betrayed and hurt, he chases Rosetta on his moped, he eventually catches up to her and demands to know why she did what she did, she states she wanted a job, and had no intention of saving him from the water. Rosetta is rehired on the waffle stand, she encounters Riquet again, as a customer, returning home she finds her mother barely conscious and inebriated, she calls her boss to tell him she will not be working the next day. Later Rosetta is forced to get a new gas canister, Riquet shows up on his moped and circles her, she collapses to the ground and cries, Riquet helps her up, Rosetta turns around to gaze at him as she slowly regains her composure. Also starring Bernard Marbaix as The Campgrounds Manager, Frédéric Bodson as The Head of Personnel and Florian Delain as The Boss's Son. The debuting Dequenne gives a great performance as the troubled teenager desperate for a job for self-esteem as much as pay, it is a difficult and gruelling watch most of the time, with a soul-destroying routine for the leading character, but it is a good view of social realism, an affective drama. Worth watching!

sharky_55 Rosetta, like many of the Dardenne brother's films, opens in medias res, with a young girl confronting an employer about being fired. We are immediately aware of the before and after of these events, and can conclude that this is a regular occurrence for Rosetta, being exploited as cheap labour for a limited period of time, and having to make a loud disgrace of herself when told the unfortunate news. It's impact is so visceral that the film in fact has proved to be the catalyst for reform for youth workers in Belgium.Near home, we see her repeat the same actions over and over; crossing a four laned road, checking the fish traps, refilling her bottle, putting on and taking off her boots and exchanging them for her 'nice' shoes, go all over town in search of a job. These are not exciting in any sense, but you see how it weighs her down, having to return to these tasks over and over to ensure her survival. The Dardennes reused this technique in Two Days One Night, and repeatedly forced Sandra to walk up long pathways, inquire with numerous strangers, and knock and ask the same questions again and again, and build up a sense of dread that came with each refusal. As Rosetta trudges through this day to day cycle, and asks the same questions, we begin to realise that it is not only a matter of financial security, but also her own pride being wounded by every rejection. We see her utter dedication to leave this life even as she is so familiar and efficient in all its facets. Her mother is the opposing force to this; clearly in denial mental issues and whoring herself out for a drink or two. Rosetta hates her, and her mindset that seems so at peace with their destiny of living their lives out in a trailer park, but reacts with the same anger when her mother is clearly being taken advantage of: "My mother's not a whore!" Her last vestiges of pride (throwing food away and refusing to beg or resort to charity) and her tough exterior are eviscerated in one startling scene of vulnerability and emotional distress - while trying to wrestle with her mother and convince her to apply for rehab, she is accidentally pushed into the river. Her mother's immediate reaction is so damning and harsh: she flees like she flees the reality that Rosetta forces her to try and confront. And Rosetta herself, her gruff, defensive voice put on to shield her from any perception of weakness, becomes shrill and desperate as it calls for mommy, to no avail. She meets Riquet, a young waffle worker whom may be the first and only friend in her life. When he rides up to the trailer park, she is supremely embarrassed, but he does not show any signs of ill will or prejudice. He is in fact kind to her, and it is so unexpected for Rosetta that as she lays in his bed at night, she has to repeat to herself or risk falling asleep and never waking up to a 'better life'. She is numb and cold to his open and kind reception; when has this ever lead to something good in her life? And then, as he falls into the water as she once did, she hesitates because it might just open up a spot for her to take. This act is less convincing than revealing his side waffle business to the boss; because we do not see this sort of malice from her at all previously (the fighting at the beginning is more born of desperation), and it feels uncharacteristically cold, even for someone who is looking out for herself. But this lends power to Riquet's final action, because of this hint of hesitation - the Dardennes reverse it and for once in her life she finds a little spot of solace, of compassion, that is so genuinely honest and good, even as Rosetta has done all of those things to him. It is shot in the same way as all of the Dardenne's work, but perhaps because of the subject matter, it is an even more harrowing vision of the neo-realism aesthetic. Long takes and body language are used to depict the heightened senses of Rosetta and how they have been tuned as a result of this lifestyle and to ensure survival; as she picks up on stray dialogue in the background about money being left in a till, as her body stoops in resignation of having to help her drunk mother up again, and in a subtle moment, as she nervously glances off-screen briefly at Riquet, whom has come to the store to survey her in his old position. Sometimes, the physical shaking of the camera does get a bit excessive, and is relied upon rather than the actual desperation of the body and facial expressions. And like always, there is no music to speak of, no sentimental chorus or signalling of moment of change. Just a repeated mantra that is whispered to no one but herself, because if it is not reaffirmed, she may lose hope altogether.

birthdaynoodle Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne wrote and directed 'Rosetta', winner of the Palm d'Or at Cannes in 1999, a film about an adolescent girl who shares a trailer and her entire existence with an alcoholic mother. Its simple story is put together with an intimate, naturalistic style: Rosetta carries the burden of what little is left of her dysfunctional family and aspires to get a job, her own place, to live a normal life, to find freedom; one day, she meets a young man who is willing to help her... The film packs a powerful punch, thanks in great part to the excellent performance of Émilie Dequenne, who won the prize for Best Actress at Cannes that year. Her facial expressions, her posture, even the way she scurries around from place to place, like a raccoon or some other wild animal, all convey the pain, despair, anger and shame that are eating her. I hesitated to watch it at fist, because I didn't know if I was in the mood for something terribly heavy. If you happen to share the same dilemma, fear not: 'Rosetta' isn't nearly as harrowing or difficult as, say, Lars Von Trier's 'Breaking The Waves' (1996). It's emotionally demanding, but the economy of its narrative provides a certain lightness. There's a moment in which the main character falls into muddy waters and has a hard time getting out, and I worried for a second that the film might start going into some not-very-subtle symbolism, which I think would have detracted from its main strength – that is, its minimalism and focus on the girl's primitive state of mind, desires, rough gestures. But I don't really think it goes in that direction. Another nice thing about 'Rosetta' is that it clocks out at 95 minutes. It would be too much if it went on for 3 hours. The length is just right.If you've already watched and enjoyed this film, I recommend 'The Maid' (2009), by Chilean director Sebastián Silva, which is similar in tone and is also very good, one of my favorites.

StarsDown It really is a shame there is no decent distribution for this film in the US. Rosetta is a film that deserves one. Rosetta is a poor girl fighting against the circumstances of her life. She fights a futile effort to keep a job to make a steady wage to be able to move out of the trailer park where she is stuck with her alcoholic mother. Being a teenager she gets a lower wage and does not get to work a job long enough to get unemployment or has not been unemployed long enough to get hired long term. She wants a normal life so badly but something seems to happen to get in the way. I could not help but draw many parallels to Robert Bresson's film Mouchette which is also about a girl living a tragic life. Unlike Mouchette though Rosetta is trying to do something about it and will fight the world if needed. There is a very touching scene where Rosetta gives herself a pep talk before going to sleep. She has a normal job, a friend and a normal life and she will not falter. Like always though circumstances are working against her.The Dardenne brothers shot this film with hand held cameras and you can tell with the way it moves and sways as it tries to keep up with Rosetta who is constantly moving. It almost seems if she stands still for too long she will be stuck in her impossible situation forever. The Dardenne brothers as always do a great job of shooting the film with natural lighting in long takes often following the character almost if she is an animal in the wild and if they get too close she will run away. All throughout the film Rosetta suffers from sudden and extreme cases of stomach pain. This pain is never given a cause but the amount of different probable reasons that she might have this pain shows just further displays the challenges Rosetta must face. She uses a hair dryer on her stomach to ease the pain and the viewer cannot help but feel that this might just be a replacement for the human warmth Rosetta does not have in her life. Emilie Dequenne gives a subtle yet powerful performance of this woman who is in a desperate struggle against the hand she was dealt in this life.