Rosa la Rose: fille publique (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Aug 21, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Paul VecchialiRelease Date(s)
1986 (July 22, 2025)Studio(s)
Diagonale/Périphérie Productions/Stéphan Films (Radiance Films)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: B+
Review
Slight but moderately interesting, Rosa la Rose: fille publique (“Rosa the Rose: Public Girl,” 1986) tells the story of Rosa (Marianne Basler), a popular, free-spirited 20-year-old prostitute in Les Halles, a central Paris neighborhood known for the Forum des Halles, a modernist shopping center, though Rosa and her fellow ladies of the night cruise a more traditional section of the area, with breezy, cheery Rosa never without work.
She and the equally content if aging older working girls have a good relationship with their pimp, Gilbert (Jean Sorel), and the men he sends out to look after the sex workers. Based in a (disused?) billiards hall, an early scene has Gilbert hosting a 20th birthday party for Rosa. The women sing and dance and it all seems very festive. Is this even remotely typical of prostitute life in Paris the 1980s? I have no idea.
The short film (87 minutes, including credits) is light on plot. Rosa’s seemingly blissful life is upended when handsome laborer Julien (Pierre Cosso) walks into her life. No ordinary John, his passionate lovemaking immediately turns her off the streetwalking game, she considering leaving Gilbert, who seems oddly supportive, though she’s his biggest earner, and he’s anxious to retire in a few years, much of it from Rosa’s earnings. Regardless, Rosa’s possible departure upends the entire operation, with several of Gilbert’s enforcers anxious to put the kibosh on Rosa’s relationship with Julien.
The movie has the feel of early Pedro Almodóvar: it’s frank and unabashedly explicit about sex, including the kind of casual male full-frontal nudity one never finds in American films, and it also reflects Almodóvar’s fondness for contrasting such frankness with the director’s affection for classical movie melodrama. As Almodóvar sometimes does (as in All About My Mother), the film is dedicated to a number of iconic actresses such as Danielle Darrieux, and the singing and dancing of the girls at Rosa’s birthday party threatens to erupt into a full-blown musical number. And Rosa herself is placed on a very Almodóvarian pedestal of womanhood like so many of that director’s heroines.
But Rosa la Rose: fille publique’s screenplay isn’t at the level of even Almodóvar weaker films—and Almodóvar has precious few weak ones—although it’s all reasonably interesting. On one hand, Rosa happily and unjudgmentally indulges in her client’s varied fantasies and, hardly typical of such cinematic portrayals, seems to find satisfaction in her ability to make men (and women) happy. Gilbert, also hardly the typical pimp, is definitely the boss but abhors violence and seems to genuinely care about the needs of both his female and male employees, to a point.
The picture’s second half is both more conventional and vague about why Rosa should fall so deeply and instantly (if reluctantly) for Julien, very conventionally handsome in a mid-‘80s manner but bereft of much in the way of personality, and how his presence calls Rosa’s “freedom” into question. Director Vecchiali, as well known as a producer as a director (in the former category, Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, among other films) and as a director he tackled subjects similar to Almodóvar. Here, he’s pretentious in some scenes, staging the birthday dinner after The Last Supper, for instance. I can’t say that I found the film especially rewarding overall, but individual scenes were quite interesting and unusual.
Radiance Films presents Rosa la rose: fille publique in 1.66:1 widescreen derived from a 2K restoration. It’s a good transfer with accurate color, contrast, and detail. The uncompressed mono PCM audio is excellent, as are the optional English subtitles on this Region “A”/“B” disc.
Supplements consist of archival interviews with director Vecchiali (just under five minutes), actors Basler and Sorel (four-and-a-half-minutes), and an interview with writer and film critic David Jenkins (13 minutes). A full-color booklet is highlighted by a probing essay on the film by Marina Ashioti and several older pieces on the film.
Not great but worthwhile, Rosa la rose: fille publique is recommended.
- Stuart Galbraith IV