Madame Rosa [Blu-ray]

Director: Moshe Mizrahi Moshe Mizrahi

Overview

Madame Rosa (Simone Signoret) is an aging former prostitute who, in her dotage, makes a living by caring for the children of other prostitutes in Paris' Arab community. Haunted by memories of her experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, Rosa is seized with the notion that the Gestapo is still after her. She thus begs one of her young charges (Samy Ben Youb) not to give away her "hiding place." Madame Rosa was based on Momo, a novel by one Emile Ajar (better known as Romaine Gary).

Product Details

Release Date:	05/18/2021
UPC:	0738329253820
Original Release:	1977
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	20,483

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Simone Signoret	Madame Rosa
Samy Ben Youb	Momo
Claude Dauphin	Docteur Katz
Gabriel Jabbour	Mr. Hamil
Michal Bat Adam	Nadine
Constantin Costa-Gavras	Ramon
Stella Anicette	Mme. Lola
Bernard Lajarrige	Louis Charmette
Mohammed Zineth	Kadir Youssef
Genevieve Fontanel	Maryse
Michael Bat-Adam	Nadine
Theo Legitimus	Actor
Nadia Samir	Actor
Renata	Actor
El Kebir	Mimoun
Philippe Sarde	Composer

Technical Credits

Moshe Mizrahi

Romain Gary

Ralph Baum	Executive Producer
Jean Bolary	Producer
Moshe Mizrahi	Director,Screenwriter
Jean-Pierre Ruh	Sound/Sound Designer
Romain Gary	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Better known by its English title Madame Rosa, La Vie Devant Soi captured the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and was justly praised as a showcase for Simone Signoret's marvelous performance. In truth, it is Signoret who deserved an Oscar rather than the film. That's not to say that Vie is bad; it's an appealing, heartfelt, warm picture. But the film as a whole is only good; Signoret is sensational. Totally unafraid to look worn out and worn down, the actress shows us a woman who has weathered tremendous crises in her life, who has been through horrors that have battered but, thanks to her strength of spirit, not beaten her. Her eyes sunken, her jaw moving as if there is pain involved in speaking, Signoret paints a picture of life lived despite obstacles that could destroy a lesser soul. She brings both a power and a vulnerability top her portrayal, and her instincts are dead-on in every frame. She is ably supported by Sammy Ben Youb, a juvenile giving a beautifully calibrated performance that gives her plenty to play off of. Vie's screenplay gets a bit manipulative, and the implied analogy between Rosa's world and that of the Middle East doesn't wash, as it reduces the enormous complexity of that political situation to a well-meaning "people must learn to get along." But Moshe Mizrahi's direction is simple and fairly restrained, wisely letting the actors carry the show to good effect.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler