Rosetta

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Rosetta

R,

1999,

1h 35m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

89%

27 Reviews

Tomatometer

83%

2,500+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

89%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

83%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Belgian 17-year-old Rosetta (Émilie Dequenne) lives in a dilapidated trailer that has no running water, with only her indigent and alcoholic mother (Anne Yernaux) for company. After losing her job at a food processing plant, the teen struggles to find work in a bid to avoid falling into the same traps as her mother, but is rebuffed at every turn. Only Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), who works at a nearby waffle stand, seems to care for Rosetta, but even that budding friendship has a price.

Critics Consensus

Small in scope yet mighty in sheer storytelling power, Rosetta wrings heartbreaking drama out of one girl's grueling odyssey of survival.

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Rob Humanick

Slant Magazine

Nov 12, 2012

4/4

There's something genuinely religious in Rosetta's stark portrayal of unyielding resurrection.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

3.5/4

The film has an odd subterranean power. It doesn't strive for our sympathy or make any effort to portray Rosetta as colorful, winning or sympathetic. It's a film of economic determinism, the story of a young woman for whom employment equals happiness.

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Codie Allen

fade in, breathe out (Substack)

Aug 7, 2025

Émilie Dequenne’s performance in Rosetta is a masterclass in subtlety and depth, capturing the essence of the character with a raw intensity that resonates long after the film ends.

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Farah Cheded

A Good Movie To Watch

Oct 28, 2023

A harrowing slice of social realism [...] told with relentless urgency.

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Aug 6, 2019

3.5/4

The Dardennes convey so much using so little, the seemingly strung together nature of the film ultimately containing a very specific and carefully plotted structure that brings a gravity to even the most mundane of events.

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Kaleem Aftab

The List

Apr 13, 2019

5/5

A marvelous exposition of the continuing importance of cinema highlighting social barriers and conflict.

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Anakin S

Nov 13, 2018

I liked La Promesse but that had a central drama and a point. This isn't kitchen-sink drama because there's no drama, it's just the kitchen sink. The jerky hand-held camera in constant close-up also really starts to grate after a while. .

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Albus W

Aug 1, 2017

Rosetta is an engaging and hard-hitting but deeply flawed drama. It is well directed and acted, it is important to see and the almost animalistic behavior of its protagonist was interesting to see. But the film lost me with Rosetta herself who is such a downright terrible human being and had she been more likable, the movie would have been much more tragic.

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George G

Jun 2, 2017

"Rosetta" is genuine art, where everything seems to be a race against time before disaster, being an exhausting drama difficult to digest. It is heavily symbolic and ends the religiosity of hope and humanism, sowing a pain that will draw every audience from their former comfort. 93/100

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Draco S

Feb 1, 2017

A beautifully made film about absolute, never-ending misery. Oh, it's extremely hard to watch, of course, I had a lot of trouble watching it. I tuned out, it was too much at one point. But you'll appreciate just how well the cinematography captures Rosetta's horrible life.

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Luc Dardenne

Director

Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Director

Émilie Dequenne

Rosetta

Fabrizio Rongione

Riquet

Anne Yernaux

The Mother

Olivier Gourmet

The Boss

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Synopsis

Belgian 17-year-old Rosetta (Émilie Dequenne) lives in a dilapidated trailer that has no running water, with only her indigent and alcoholic mother (Anne Yernaux) for company. After losing her job at a food processing plant, the teen struggles to find work in a bid to avoid falling into the same traps as her mother, but is rebuffed at every turn. Only Riquet (Fabrizio Rongione), who works at a nearby waffle stand, seems to care for Rosetta, but even that budding friendship has a price.

Director: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Producer: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Michele Petin, Laurent Pétin
Screenwriter: Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Canadian French
Release Date (DVD): Aug 14, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $261.5K
Runtime: 1h 35m
Sound Mix: Surround

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