I found this film in a roundabout way after stumbling upon mention of Rosa in William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich."
Indeed, the movie beautifully encapsulates the upheaval of the Weimar Republic, that uncertain period between Germany's defeat in World War I and the horrors of Hitler.
At the biopic's heart is revolutionary socialist Rosa (Barbara Sukowa), a brilliant orator who questions the status quo -- "How is it that some people may decide the fate of others?" -- and envisions, yes, a world without war. Although born to privilege, she risks death at every turn, be it in the tumultuous streets of Berlin or before a hastily assembled firing squad.
Ms. Sukowa's portrayal is illuminating, as we observe a fiery soul in all her facets. But first and foremost, there's the indefatigable dreamer. When Rosa's brother visits her behind bars -- "It doesn't make sense to be in jail for a lost cause" -- she responds, "It only seems that way; we need patience and good spirits!" Who among us doesn't need to hear such words?
Mid-40ish Rosa appreciates children, animals, and plants, and yearns for a baby of her own, but her unpredictable existence withholds it. The mentor she loved and trusted, fellow firebrand Leo Jogiches (David Olbrychski), expediently betrays her, and then can't fathom why she's upset, and Rosa finds herself alone.
"Did you sleep with her, without loving her?"
"How little you know me."
"I don't want to be indebted to anyone!"
Rosa finds comfort with a younger, apolitical man -- "How can you love as ungainly a duck as me?" -- as she watches her dreams for society disintegrate -- "There will be war, and most socialists will join up." Indeed, with a wolf at the door, who sits down to peruse political philosophy?
Yet, the consolations of nature sustain our heroine, perched in her prison-yard garden, as unflaggingly she aspires to prop up others: "My dear, don't live like a squashed frog!"
I found a soulmate in Rosa as I watched her weather storms. When she confides, "I have enough courage for myself, but when something happens to someone else, my courage fails me," is there a mother or sister who doesn't identify?
Rosa's scenes with her cat, Mimi, are revelatory; as a non-pet person myself, I was mesmerized.
I love that Rosa questions the givens of our lives, never surrendering.
"Before us lies the greatest task mankind has ever attempted."
"Don't shoot."
"I was, I am, I will be."
The movie ends on a shattering note, as we can glimpse the specter of what was to seize the world, in Naziism. May God have mercy on humanity...
Indeed, the movie beautifully encapsulates the upheaval of the Weimar Republic, that uncertain period between Germany's defeat in World War I and the horrors of Hitler.
At the biopic's heart is revolutionary socialist Rosa (Barbara Sukowa), a brilliant orator who questions the status quo -- "How is it that some people may decide the fate of others?" -- and envisions, yes, a world without war. Although born to privilege, she risks death at every turn, be it in the tumultuous streets of Berlin or before a hastily assembled firing squad.
Ms. Sukowa's portrayal is illuminating, as we observe a fiery soul in all her facets. But first and foremost, there's the indefatigable dreamer. When Rosa's brother visits her behind bars -- "It doesn't make sense to be in jail for a lost cause" -- she responds, "It only seems that way; we need patience and good spirits!" Who among us doesn't need to hear such words?
Mid-40ish Rosa appreciates children, animals, and plants, and yearns for a baby of her own, but her unpredictable existence withholds it. The mentor she loved and trusted, fellow firebrand Leo Jogiches (David Olbrychski), expediently betrays her, and then can't fathom why she's upset, and Rosa finds herself alone.
"Did you sleep with her, without loving her?"
"How little you know me."
"I don't want to be indebted to anyone!"
Rosa finds comfort with a younger, apolitical man -- "How can you love as ungainly a duck as me?" -- as she watches her dreams for society disintegrate -- "There will be war, and most socialists will join up." Indeed, with a wolf at the door, who sits down to peruse political philosophy?
Yet, the consolations of nature sustain our heroine, perched in her prison-yard garden, as unflaggingly she aspires to prop up others: "My dear, don't live like a squashed frog!"
I found a soulmate in Rosa as I watched her weather storms. When she confides, "I have enough courage for myself, but when something happens to someone else, my courage fails me," is there a mother or sister who doesn't identify?
Rosa's scenes with her cat, Mimi, are revelatory; as a non-pet person myself, I was mesmerized.
I love that Rosa questions the givens of our lives, never surrendering.
"Before us lies the greatest task mankind has ever attempted."
"Don't shoot."
"I was, I am, I will be."
The movie ends on a shattering note, as we can glimpse the specter of what was to seize the world, in Naziism. May God have mercy on humanity...