RoweReviews
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me

The Rose King (1986) - Werner Schroeter

1/21/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
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


Picture
Picture
Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Love of all things cinema brought me here.  

    Archives

    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Viewing Log / Reviews
  • Search
  • Ramblings
  • Contact Me