The Rose King (1986) - Werner Schroeter

Anna Rahma, a tormented and somewhat unstable widow, lives in a mansion on the Portuguese coast with her son.  Living in a luxurious but empty life, Anna grows roses with her son as a way to pass the time.  The arrival of a laborer creates a strain in Anna and her son's relationship, but not in the way one would expect, ultimately giving Anna a new view on life.  Werner Schroeter's The Rose King is an incredibly challenging, enigmatic study of unbridled human passion.  The plot description above isn't really that important for this film which could be described as a cinematic painting, a work of art, that is self-indulgent, unapologetic, and downright beautifully realized, even if it's beyond comprehension at times.  With healthy amounts of surrealism, visual allegories, and symbolism, The Rose King is basically the definition of "Arthouse".  To say I comprehended even half of what Schroeter was trying to say would be stretching it but I couldn't help but be enamored by this complex film.  Anna is a character haunted by the death of her love and the way the "story" unfolds between her son and his lover makes me wonder if Schroeter's film is not only a celebration of human passion but also in the beauty of death.  The Rose King is filled with symbolism that shows the wear and tear of time, from worn out photographs and statues to giant cobwebs which envelope structures.  The film bathes itself in such beauty-related destruction as if to suggest that death and decay are simply the final stage in a beautiful work of art.  I feel that The Rose King's central motif is simply the celebration of art, capturing how intrinsic it is in both life and death.  The first five minutes of The Rose King should give a pretty strong indication of whether this is a film for you.  Some will find this unbearably pretentious, while others will classify it as enigmatic.  I definitely understand both arguments for and against this film but there is no denying the raw artistry that a film like The Rose King possesses.
7/10

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