Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, whose fascination with the squalor and depravity of contemporary Belgian life recalls such luminaries as Ken Loach and Mike Leigh, deservedly won the Palme d'Or at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for this unremittingly bleak portrait of the minutiae of working class life. The grim and pessimistic tone of the film, and the relentless misery endured by the titular central character, ensure that Rosetta is far from an easy or a particularly comfortable viewing experience, culminating in an unforgettable ending that takes downbeat to a whole new level. The point is that Rosetta suffers, so do we: and by the end, like her, we feel that we just don't have the strength or the energy to take any more setbacks or cruel twists of fate. Dequenne turns in a blistering central performance as Rosetta, a spirited young woman burdened with an alcoholic mother and a fiery temper who will try absolutely anything to get out of the ramshackle caravan park she calls home. Thus she tries to catch fish for her supper in the local lake, recycles literally anything she can get her hands on at the charity shops, and bounds from one minimum wage job to the next, losing one position just as quickly as she can find the next. The turning point comes when Rosetta is fired from her job at a bakery to make way for the manager's son (who needs work for the summer). Full of rage, she begins lashing out at everyone around her - parents, her employer, former work colleagues, but only ends up sinking further into the mire of poverty and unhappiness. The Dardennes capture every heart-breaking moment on handheld cameras which gives Rosetta the air of a fly-on-the-wall documentary, never letting the eponymous heroine out of sight for more than the briefest of moments. Dark and depressing as anything ever committed to celluloid, Rosetta lays bare real life in all of its bloated, festering glory. Not a pretty sight, but one which holds the attention with the tightest of grips and steadfastly refuses to let go.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","fnc":"googleTrackerHelper.doTrackPage( '\/'Rosetta-film_options~18330'\/Reviews\/ViewAll\/1' );"}