Róza

"War is like a fire," it is said in The Art of War "if you do not put it out, it will burn itself out." The fire of World War II smoldered in Masuria, in the northeast corner of Poland, long after the war ceased. Life was especially hard for innocents like Rose, a German speaker whose soldier husband died in battle. Victorious Russians and Poles treated such women as conquered enemies. Alone on a potato farm, Rose is on the edge of death when Tadeusz encounters her. Tadeusz, who deserted from the Polish Home Army when his wife was brutally murdered, is in no mood to see another woman suffer like this. He stays to protect Rose as best he can, but also to tend to his own broken heart. Rose and Tadeusz swim in a pristine lake in the forest, relive happy moments from the past, plant potatoes and attempt to mold a bright future from the ashes, yet the flames of war, violence and abuse are not so easily snuffed out.

Rose is a determined character who refuses to give up despite extreme hardship and abuse. She radiates hope amid despair. So does Tadeusz. Together they embody goodness and sparks of renewal in the world even at its bleakest moments. The film tugs at your emotions. Dark and light moods are heightened as film images shift between black and white and color. It is very disturbing yet illuminating to better understand the plight of Masurians, caught between warring powers. Some of my ancestors, German speakers and Russian citizens in what is now Poland, came from the area. The acting is splendid. World premiere seen at the Toronto international film festival.

more terrible than many battle story. because it represents only a honest testimony about the way to see the other. because it is one of the so many hate story who defines each period. because it is only a story about a woman and a man and the end of a war in a region who has its rules and fears and frustrations and definition of justice. and this does Rose different. because it is not exactly a case or slice of past or example of vulnerability of a single woman. but picture of a profound side of present. and this is its basic virtue - to be a story about people. not about heroic acts, not about the manner to survive. only one of the not important stories who preserve the roots of the lines from the history books.

Looks so real... I almost forget it's MOVIE. it's different kind of movies hard sad real dark .

Gritty, hard to watch, tense, gloomy, realistic, definitely not for all audiences. Sensitive film with unbearable torture scenes and a deep depiction of post WW2 Poland. Don't expect to laugh much, because it is shocking, revolting. Beautiful, unforgettable, so shame it was not released in France.

Recommended to me by a Polish penpal to shed light on.the grim and fragmentary situation in Poland after WWII, particularly with regards to the Masurian minority group. It's a rather harsh film depicting the struggle.of a former soldier to find peace and solitude with a widow despite both of their profound traumas. It's a hard subject to wedge any sort of brevity into and the film amiably tries to balance the bleakness with some hope - the narrative lurches are a bit much and poor Rose feels a bit of a secondary character despite the name - but the human fallout of the Potsdam Agreement and the realities of life for the Polish people after the war is little known in the UK so I'm ultimately very glad I saw it.