Madame Rosa (1977)

Original title

La Vie devant soi

Directed by

Moshé Mizrahi

Genre

drama film

Country

France

Runtime

1h 45m

Rating

6.8 of 10 from 42 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

An elderly Jewish woman in Paris runs a makeshift home for the children of prostitutes. She forms a close bond with an Algerian teenager who helps her as she struggles with age and fading health.

tenderpoignantslow-burnmelancholicintimateearthywarmbittersweet

What happens

Madame Rosa (French: La vie devant soi) is a 1977 French drama film directed by Moshé Mizrahi, adapted from the 1975 novel The Life Before Us by Romain Gary. It stars Simone Signoret and Samy Ben-Youb, and tells the story of an elderly Jewish woman and former prostitute in Paris who cares for a number of children, including an adolescent Algerian boy. The film required a transformation in Signoret's appearance as Madame Rosa. The film was viewed in context of Arab–Israeli conflicts, and received positive reviews. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, while Signoret won the César Award for Best Actress for her performance. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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