Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Rose
Starring Sandra Hüller, the film Rose, a haunting, historic drama with modern thematic overtones, directed by Markus Schleinzer and written by Schleinzer with Alexander Brom, had its New York premiere in the Main Slate category at the 64th New York Film Festival. Unique, stark, and set in the 17th century, the story follows Rose, who fought as a soldier during the Thirty Years War in Europe.
Normally, women were forbidden to go into battle. But Rose, disguised as a man, got away with her deception. We will discover that she bound her breasts to flatten them and, at times when she might be discovered, she wore a contraption that suggests male genitalia.
An Audacious Disguise
Rose risks life and limb because of the autonomy and power she had as a soldier. She then has the audacity and courage to continue masking her gender after leaving the battlefield. When she presents papers of inheritance and takes possession of a derelict property in a remote Protestant village, she does so as a man. She will be beholden to no one, not her commander, nor her company nor her comrades. “Wearing the pants” places her beyond the confines of oppression by a husband.
Told as a parable by a narrator (the effecting Marisa Growdalt) in voiceover, Rose’s intriguing story unfolds gradually, with very little dialogue and in short, poetic descriptions. Without embellishment the narrator’s revelations and the subsequent scenes in black, white and grey instruct viewers without moralizing or preaching, Unobtrusively, Schleinzer allows his camera to fall in love with the brave Rose as he follows her story through inspiration, hope and devastation.
Rose Tries for a Second Chance as a Farmer
The film explores the character Rose by shepherding the talents and perceptions of the incredible, affecting Hüller. Satisfied, we cheer her on as she makes a new life for herself as a farmer starting from scratch. With her beauty disfigured from a bullet that tore through her face, she has acquired her a more masculine appearance. Furthermore, as a badge of honor Rose carries the bullet, flattened from impact, on a chain around her neck. From time to time she savors it in her mouth, reminding herself that she made it out alive and this might be a second chance for her. Thus she is figuratively and literally biting the bullet as she keeps up the ruse. For a time, it works.
Thus, the mysterious stranger who hires townspeople to help on the farm gradually breaks them down so they accept her, where they once thought her a “misfit.” Ambitious, Rose restores the house and barn, ably managing her helpers who respect her. When her neighbors have trouble during a storm, she allows them to use her barn to protect their sheep. Another time, she kills a bear and saves the life of a townsperson. Her reputation grows: Hardworking, dutiful to God, attending church and being a good neighbor, the townspeople trust her as one of them.
Two Turning Points
Then, in a negotiation with her neighbor to buy land and his stream, the landowner tells Rose she can have access to his stream only if she marries his daughter Suzanna (Caro Braun). Interestingly, Rose takes on the risk of marrying and being found out with a clever defense. After the marriage she tells the father that the most important quality is the sanctity of Suzanna’s virginity and she will preserve it.
However, the father insists the lineage be carried on along with the inheritance, so Rose does her duty. Schleinzer reveals this in the shadows. Somehow, Rose convinces Suzanna their marriage has been consummated. But one day Suzanna shows up pregnant, to Rose’s great surprise. How did it happen? How much does Suzanna know or suspect? Suzanna keeps that secret and we, like Rose, can only surmise. In a silent agreement between them, Suzanna acknowledges the benefits of protecting their relationship. But the women don’t discuss who the real father of the child is.
The Truth Comes Out
Life progresses for them happily after the child’s birth, until tragedy strikes the sweet family unit. Stung by bees, Rose collapses and while ministering to her, the maid discovers Rose’s gender. What will Suzanna do when she learns the truth?
Schleinzer maintains a unity of dramatic elements throughout, with quiet calm in keeping with the structure and grace of the parable. Thus, the most violent scene that occurs is the confrontation between the townspeople and Rose and Suzanna. Hüller’s Rose explodes with justification. She questions the humanity of the people who once respected and grew close to her. It’s as if she has come face to face with the fate of slavish womanhood in that century. This is why she ran away to be a soldier rather than a demeaned, objectified hausfrau. Can her words change their minds?
Suzanna and Rose’s Fate
Braun and Hüller create an unforgettable, breathtaking scene. We hope for the women whose sin was to want what society forbade them to have: their own created identity. However, it cannot be.
But rather than presenting a brutal, visually numbing conclusion, Schleinzer allows the narrator with as few words as possible to tell us of Suzanna and Rose’s fate. This understated choice sharpens our empathy, all the more heartbreaking and powerful. The pair are ahead of their time. Enslaved to their time and place, the townspeople cannot allow these harmless people to live in the peace they have createed for themselves, despite the fact that they hurt no one. Theirs is an offense worse than murder.
Rose will be at NYFF 2026 until October 7, 2026. Look for it in theaters on December 11, 2026, and later on streaming platforms.
