La ragazza Rosemarie

Apart from being a well-made film, 'Das Mädchen Rosemarie' (= German for 'the girl Rosemarie') reflects very well the big dilemma in the 1950's West Germany of Chancellor Conrad Adenauer.

Conrad Adenauer lives on as one of Germany's great statesmen. He was responsible for the 'Wirtschaftswunder' (= German for 'the economic miracle', relating to West Germany's speedy recovery from the extensive damages of the lost Second World War). Adenauer rebuilt his country, and led it politically into the Western influence of the USA - making it a member of NATO.

However, in one respect Adenauer failed: he did not deal effectively with the many Nazi-sympathizers in his country. In particular with those in its leading circles. There were just too many of them, and their abilities could not be missed for the re-building of the West German economy.

It may be hard for Americans to appreciate, but 'Das Mädchen Rosemarie' is made special by this issue. The film emphasizes on the bankrupt moral state of mind of these business leaders - their former involvement with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi's is clearly written on their foreheads. In this respect this film's main theme, prostitution, connects very well.

'Das Mädchen Rosemarie' even makes a historical document. I know of no other film dealing in such a clear, sharp and ruthless way with Germany's big post-war moral dilemma. A dilemma vanished by now, for the vast majority of these Hitler-infected leaders have died.

"Das Mädchen Rosemarie" offers a compelling tale of a West German call girl

caught up in the big money world of capitalism in the 50's. The title character is a resourceful, intelligent beauty who attempts to outwit morally corrupt

businessmen, and fails, losing her life. From the opening sequence which finds Rosemarie dancing below a hotel, "Das Mådchen" is full of vibrancy and life, containing an almost lyrical quality to the film. Singing is prevalent throughout the film, with Rosemarie's lowly

aquaintances providing social commentary with an accordion throughout the

movie. Along with this poetic quality, the film also finds strength through its stylish camera work. Full of extreme zooms and close-ups, the camera adds

real drama and a sense of urgency to the story. Nadja Tiller, as the call-girl Rosemarie, is electrifying, dominating the screen in every scene. Beautiful and resourceful, you never doubt her ability to outwit the West German

businessmen. The supporting cast is also very strong. As for weaknesses of the movie, the story does tend to drag along a bit, despite the music which is prevalent throughout. The main problem however,

is its hit you over the head method of displaying its message. The audience is constantly bombarded with messages of the ills of capitalism , most commonly displayed through the songs of Rosemaries friends , which are not-so-subtle

jabs at capitalism. While the merits of capitalism are certainly valid film topics, the constant barrage detracts from the movie. The story works on its own, and does not need the constant anti-capitalist messages. Stylistically, "Das Mådchen has echos of Hitchcock, with its dizzying camera work and morbid end. Despite this one major flaw, "Das Mådchen" is a colorful and enjoyable movie, complete with a tragic ending which lends an air of seriousness to the movie.

In Das Mädchen Rosemarie, I felt very unsatisfied from the story line. I had a difficult time getting into the time of the movie to let go of reality. The acting was very cut and dry. No one really showed any type of real emotional and powerful acting. My favorite part in the movie was at the dinner party when the wives and then everyone started jumping in the pool for money. Thinking about recent

movies I thought of Pretty Woman with a lot less emotion and entertainment

value. Since I was not very into the plot and action taking place on the screen I was very focused on the camera movements and angles. I am not a historian, but I felt like the car scenes were probably innovative. Especially during Rosemarie and Hartog's trip to the club for lunch when it went up and over he car.

My final comments on this movie, would be to go see, but don't expect to be

moved by the acting of engaged by the plot. See this movie to pick up on the camera techniques and angles.

Das Maedchen Rosemarie was a very well-done film. It is about a call-girl,

Rosemarie, who wants to move up in the world. She begins circulating with

important capitalist business clients. Then a french client gets her to become a spy for him, and she begins to feel like she has a lot more power and influence then she really does, and becomes a threat to all of the men. In the meanwhile, all she really wants from the situation is to be an upperclass member like all of them. It's sad because, being a prostitute, she can never really be like a rich man's wife, or a member of elite society.

One unique thing they did with it was to have two musicians (the two men with whom Rosemarie initially lives and works with) sing songs throughout the movie that have to do with what Rosemarie is currently doing. Their songs reflect on the current situation and foreshadow things to come. It is sort of similar to the two male singers in "There's Something about Mary," only this movie, unlike that one, is not moronic.

The fim's being in black and white gives it another interesting effect. It does not have much background music, and reminds one of an Alfred Hitchcock movie in

that respect. It focuses on interesting (and altered/distorted to sound stranger) background noises like the whooshing sound of revolving doors, or the sound of an elevator going up. It also does interesting camera shots such as looking at the carpet (and the shadows of revolving doors) instead of the doors

themselves. It reminded me of how, in Psycho, Alfred Hitchcock chose to focus on the running water, and shadows, in the famous shower/murder scene,

instead of actually depicting the violence.

I really liked this movie, and thought it was very well done, and something

different. Aside from the technical aspects of it, the general story-line was really good in itself, and had a strong message about capitalist germany and how the business and capitalist were taking over everything, and became more

important than the personal lives of less cold-hearted, business-minded people such as Rosemarie. Even though she was a prostitute, she was sort of innocent at the same time, because she could not comprehend how hopeless it was for

her to wish to be a member of the upper class, and how most people were only

using her. She was just a luxury to them, and one more thing they could afford to buy for themselves to make their lives more interesting. They did not want for her to hold any real sway over them, or affect their lives in any way. She did not realize how dangerous it would be for her when she attempted to become a real person.

Although I came into the movie theater with high expectations for this film (which had been selected for my film class) I left a bit disappointed and a bit more confused. In short, I didn't like this movie. Artistically the movie was pleasing. The camera work was smooth and the shots were from creative angles (such as when Rosemarie visited her old domicile and the shot was of her feet walking in, somewhat showing how she was above that life now) and the scenes flowed nicely from one to the next. Content and plot-line were my biggest disappointments with this movie. Firstly, all of the characters in this film are static. There seems to be little character development in any of the characters. Each character interacts starkly with the next and neither seems to learn much from the next. Secondly, the plot-line in this movie was loose. The end of the film left many avenues open and some of the plot was not even tied together.

For example, the small apartment where Rosemarie lived at the beginning of the film was not explained at all during the film. Even the men who lived in the apartment weren't explained in effect or purpose. The story also switched from being somewhat comical, to stark and realistic, to unrealistic at the end. In short, this is a well-done movie that I didn't like.