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Rosenstrasse ( Rosenstraße )
When Ruth Weinstein's, (Jutta Lampe), husband dies, she insists that the family observe a strictly Orthodox mourning period, even though they had never been observant Jews. Her son and daughter are both bewildered, and then angry, when Ruth forbids daughter Hannah, (Maria Schrader) to marry her Nicaraguan fiance Luis, ((Fedja van Huet). Luis is not Jewish, and although he was mentored by Hannah's now deceased father, and religion had never been a problem before, their plans for a life together are now up in the air. A distant cousin alludes that the source of Ruth's problems lies in the past, in Nazi Germany. She reveals to Hannah that her mother was cared for, in fact saved from certain death, by an Aryan woman during WWII. After the war Ruth immigrated to America to live with this cousin and her family, virtual strangers. Ruth had never discussed her childhood or her war experiences with her children. She always kept silent. And when Hannah probes once more she receives no answers, as always. She decides to fly to Germany to uncover the secrets of her mother's past. In Berlin, Hannah tracks down 90 year-old Lena Fischer, (Doris Schade), the Christian woman who brought seven year-old Ruth home to live with her, when the child's mother was imprisoned with other Berlin Jews in March, 1943. Hannah does not reveal her identity, but says she is conducting a study about Aryans and their Jewish spouses during the war. She listens intently, over a period of days, as the charming elderly woman finally reveals the facts about her own life and Ruth's, both so closely intertwined. Thousands of Berlin's Jews were swept up from their forced labor jobs and taken to Rosenstrasse 2-4, in central Berlin in March 1943. This was meant to be the capital's final round-up for the Final Solution, and the Jews were to be deported to concentration camps from Rosenstrasse. Ruth's mother was one of these unfortunate people. Left alone without a ration card, the child would not have survived without Lena's assistance. (The younger Lena is played by Katja Riemann, who gives a powerful performance). Her husband, Fabian Fischer (Martin Feifel), a brilliant violinist, was also taken to Rosenstrasse. Lena was a concert pianist and met Fabian through their mutual love for music. She married against her aristocratic parents wishes and was disowned by all, except her brother Arthur. As with most marriages between Aryans and Jews, the Aryans were pressured heavily by the Nazi State, their employers, and usually friends and family to divorce their Jewish spouses. Most who refused were marginalized, but they still maintained their status as Aryans and German citizens, and as such their Jewish mates were supposedly protected from deportation. Lena joins a group of women waiting for word of their husbands, keeping vigil, outside the building on Rosenstrasse. It is here that Lena meets the frightened and bewildered Ruth, who knows her mother is in the building, but never is actually told that she has been deported already. Svea Lohde plays Ruth, as a young girl, with great sensitivity. She has nowhere to go and no one to turn to, so Lena steps in, in spite of her fear of discovery for hiding a Jewish child. Lena and Ruth form a strong bond, a surrogate mother-daughter relationship which will last for three years. Director Margarethe von Trotta emphasizes throughout Ruth's heartbreaking ignorance of her mother's fate. The number of women on Rosenstrasse increases. Unarmed, unorganized, and leaderless, these courageous women, some with their children, stood up to the Nazis and demanded the return of their loved ones. The acting and the Rosenstrasse storyline are excellent, however Director von Trotta combines so many intense plots, involving so many people, that the points she most wants to make occasionally become lost in the confusion. We never hear Ruth speak of closure, if in fact she does ever come to grips with her past. The film's conclusion only hints at this. Almost all of her dramatic story is revealed by Lena, who has only second-hand knowledge of the events and no real idea of the child's feelings at the time. Von Trotta's handling of the character study is far too abstract. She is much more successful when portraying the women of Rosenstrasse and their protests and resistance. I must credit her with navigating an intensely emotional story effectively, without falling into sensationalism or melodrama. This is a little known true story of women, who in spite of loss, separation and fear for their loved ones, found the courage to fight back against a brutal Nazi state. I am glad it has finally been brought to the screen.
RRP: £11.99
Our Price: £17.99 (subject to change)
A Multi-Generational Tale Of Pain, Loss,Courage & Redemption
Review date: 2005-03-06 Rating: 8 out of 10
Three women, from different generations are still trying to heal from the horrors of the Third Reich and WWII more than fifty years after Germany surrendered to the Allied forces on May 7, 1945. The film's primary focus, however, is on a little girl who lost two mothers in a three year period - 1943 to 1946. She never received explanations for the horrors she lived through, nor did she have the opportunity to understand or express her pain. "Rosenstrasse" is set in 21st century New York City and Berlin, with flashbacks to Nazi Germany and Berlin in 1943.
JANA
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Svea Lohde
Doris Schade
Maria Schrader
Jutta Lampe
Katja Riemann
Creators:
Katja Riemann (Primary Contributor)
Maria Schrader (Primary Contributor)
Margarethe von Trotta (Writer)
Errol Nayci (Producer)
Henrik Meyer (Producer)
Kerstin Ramcke (Producer)
Markus Zimmer (Producer)
Richard Schöps (Producer)
Pamela Katz (Writer)
Director(s):
Recording label: Fox
Manufacturer: Fox
EAN: 9321337058320
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2006-02-08
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Region code: 2
Running time: 136 minutes
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: German (Original Language)