MovieChat Forums > Rosetta (1999) Discussion > was she trying to kill herself in the en...

was she trying to kill herself in the end?


In the end, my impression was she gave up. She told her boss she would not be coming to work, because she realized she could not keep the job because of her bad conscience (stabbing her only friend in the back). And she was just tired of running and taking care of her alcoholic mom and hustling for money or jobs etc. So she tried to go to sleep with the gas on (that would explain why she made sure to put the towel underneath the door to block any air coming in). But she ran out of gas that 's why she went to purchase the other tank of gas. Poor thing, even when she is trying to kill herself, she has to pay and then carry that heavy thing. I would like to think that the helping hand of her forgiving friend at the end is an indication she did not go through with it. If I completely misread this, can anyone else offer their interpretations of the ending.

By the way, I loved this movie. The irony of the trailer park being called "Grand Canyon." The horrors of bureaucracy: She can't get unemployment because she hasn't worked long enough. She can't get a job because they only hire long term unemployed. The whole thing was very moving and disturbing.

reply

SPOILERS!!

I just saw this movie myself and I too hope that her forgiving friend made her see the light that she did not need to kill herself. I think that interpretaion is correct. The ending is ambiguous in some ways but the look on her face at the very end offers a glimmer of hope.

I agree with you that this movie was moving and disturbing. At first I grew impatient with the film because just when it seemed like things were going OK for Rosetta, all hope just fell apart, the friend, the job.

What a great character. At first she got on my nerves then I started to realize survival was important to her no matter what (the near drowning of her friend) What a scene!

By the way does anyone know what kind of adominal pain she was suffering from?

Excellent movie.

reply

I missed a bit of the beginning so I wondered all through the rest of the movie myself about what the abdominal pain was...does anyone else know? Was it just that she never got a good solid meal and all the stress, etc?
When they showed the part about the hairdryer on her tummy, at first I thought she was getting an ultrasound and was pregnant or something!

Also, something silly I always wonder if anyone else does this...when watching a foreign film with subtitles, I always catch myself turning the volume up if suddenly I can't hear due to noise or whatnot and then I think, duh!, it has subtitles and is in a foreign language, why do I need to turn the sound up!!???
Does anyone else ever do that and laugh at themselves?

reply

I think the abdominal pain was cramps from her period because (A) her mom tries to give her advice to get rid of it and (B) warmth is a common method to make cramps go away. It's possible that it was something else, though; the film never said what it was.

Sound is important. Don't feel silly for turning up the volume. Just watch A Man Escaped for an example of the importance of sound.


Anyway, in reply to the OP, yes, I did think that she was trying to kill herself.

One thing that I wonder: did she drop the gas can on her left hand? It was hard to see... that would have hurt so much, and her left hand was her dominant hand, so if she had dropped it on her left hand... [shakes head]

reply

nakissa23 wrote:

I would like to think that the helping hand of her forgiving friend at the end is an indication she did not go through with it.

TBP4- wrote:
But, the ending feels hopeful in that she goes to the absolute edge of this (with suicide attempt), and then gets saved... for good? An amazing last shot to an amazing film.

Spot on analysis. Couldn't agree more....

reply

I was disappointed with how the film ended because i wanted o know what was going to happen next. As a result, the director has achieved his goal with the last scene.

You have all posted extrememly analytical comments, some of which I also thought of. This movie is excellent and I just wish I could talk about it more.

reply

SPOILERS!

From the very beginning, there is not a moment in the film when Rosetta is not directly fighting or resisting the world in some way. This is what makes it exhausting to watch. Imaginge what it feels like to live it! This is why Rosetta has a perpetual stomach ache and why she sees death as the only way out.

And then something unexpected happens in the very last moment of the movie: she gives up. The relief of that surrender is a kind of salvation that she, and we, are left with.

reply

Interesting that you dare to say that Rosetta's lost walk was "almost saintly"; during that whole last amazing shot (one take, one camera), I couldn't help but be reminded of comparisons to Calvary (falling down, carrying the instrument of her destruction back to the place of her dying, being tormented and implacably accepting the torment). The comparison fails somewhat: Rosetta isn't a Christ figure. But she might be a Mouchette figure.

I haven't seen any other films by the Dardennes brothers, so I don't know how Bressonian they are. And frankly, that last shot was the only thing that made me think of Bresson; stylistically the Dardennes and Bresson seem light-years apart, but _philosophically_, "Rosetta" and "Mouchette" are strikingly similar.

The very ending seems a bit of a cop-out for me. It's a brilliant moment for us, the audience, to leave Rosetta: right at the moment of perhaps salvation. But knowing the world, things would not magically work out for Rosetta, despite her spunk and determination. At least that's what I think.

reply

[deleted]

[deleted]

Have you ever heard of spoiler warnings? Putting a MASSIVE spoiler in the subject line is downright thoughtless. Thanks.. don't need to see the damn film now, since I know the end

reply

You gringos are funny. Always asking out on IMDb forums anything just to be REALLY SURE that something happenned on the movie.

Or the ones being furious for knowing the "sacred" end of the film.

Back to this thread question, my answer is, trust your feelings. If you feel she was trying to suicide, that's it. If not, good then.

That's just because of this needing of emotional clearness that Coppola or C. Nolan are leading this site's Top 100, instead of Tarkovski or Bresson.

reply

So you'd have no problem in me telling you the end of a film, while you are in the cinema queue, having happily paid for the ticket? Or giving you the ending of the book you've just spent a tenner on? There's nothing wrong with asking people to be considerate, or expecting people to have manners.

reply

Can anyone explain to me why she throws the fishes back into the water after catching it?

reply

The first one was too small (not enough meat to bother, better to let it grow); the second was a nice size, but she didn't want the property manager to see her fishing.

reply

I personally think the last scene was more like just in her head, The whole scene they don't talk to each other and the guy just follows and annoys her seem strange to me. So here my idea: On the way back home to commit suicide, she was thinking of her only friend - who she just betrayed to get the job. She feels guilty and try to escape but couldn't, she breaks down crying, and by that realizing she needs her friend. Anyway it's a perfect ending for me, give us a little hopeful in the end.

For those who annoy about spoilers. It's stupid when you come looking around through posts without watching it before. Also just by reading the title of the thread you should've known that it contains spoilers.

reply

I've written a piece on identity in Rosetta here, lemme know what you think! Cheers http://kubrickontheguillotine.com/2011/12/25/gizza-job-space-place-and-identity-in-rosetta/

reply

Thanks, @sshole!

Now, there is no point in seeing the movie.

reply

hooper-xxx wrote:

Now, there is no point in seeing the movie.
There is every reason to see the movie, and to see it again, and again. It is a great movie.

reply