Rosenstrasse

Synopsis: When Ruth's husband dies in New York, in 2000, she imposes strict Jewish mourning, which puzzles her children. A stranger comes to the house - Ruth's cousin - with a picture of Ruth, age 8, in Berlin, with a woman the cousin says helped Ruth escape. Hannah, Ruth's daughter engaged to a gentile, goes to Berlin to find the woman, Lena Fisher, now 90. Posing as a journalist investigating intermarriage, Hannah interviews Lena who tells the story of a week in 1943 when the Jewish husbands of Aryan women were detained in a building on Rosenstrasse. The women gather daily for word of their husbands. The film goes back and forth to tell Ruth and Lena's story. How will it affect Hannah?
Genre: Drama, War
Production: Samuel Goldwyn Films
  8 wins & 3 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.8
Metacritic:
49
Rotten Tomatoes:
55%
PG-13
Year:
2003
136 min
$277,843
Website
112 Views


The events that unfolded

on Rosenstrasse in Berlin...

from February 27 till March 6, 1943,

are a historical fact.

Looks like we're getting a crash course

in Jewish mourning.

The rabbi gave Mom a list

of do's and don'ts for sitting Shiva.

What else do we have to do?

No mirrors for 7 days.

I can't shave without a mirror.

You're not allowed to shave.

I can't stay home from work for 7 days.

Thirty.

You can't shave for 30 days.

No phone calls.

But Mom, it's Luis.

He flew all night just to get here.

No phone calls for 7 days.

Take off your shoes please.

Stop it, please.

I need to talk to Luis.

Hello?

Why suddenly these airs of Jewishness?

It's only for a week.

Dad wouldn't have approved of this.

He would understand me.

But Mom,

he used to cringe at Jews who

suddenly discovered their Jewishness.

He was my husband,

and I'm going to mourn for him

according to our traditions.

Dad wouldn't have stayed home from work,

no matter who died.

I don't understand why religion

has suddenly become so important.

Ben, come here

What's wrong?

I think you should lie down.

Thank you, Hannah. I'm fine.

I'll go buy groceries

before everyone gets here.

They'll bring food for us.

Not all our friends

became Orthodox overnight.

Come here, Julia.

Sit down...

and take off your shoes.

Luis.

Instead of a wedding

you come home for a funeral

I still can't believe this is happening.

Who is she?

She came to the funeral.

Mom definitely recognized her,

but she wasn't making any introductions.

Should I go after her?

That's the least of our problems.

Mom has really gone off the deep end.

I'm so sorry, Ruth.

What's he doing here?

Luis just flew all the way

from Nicaragua to see you.

Everybody sends their condolences to you.

They loved and respected Robert.

Your whole family means so much to them.

Thank you.

And you know he was like a Father to me.

Don't let her hurt your feelings.

She's gone crazy and she knows

how much Dad loved you.

He was never in a hurry for us to marry.

Luis. You know he was

too open-minded for that.

He would never had insisted

on a conventional ritual like marriage.

I used to think that

but looking at Ruth now, I wonder...

Maybe it always bothered them

that I'm not Jewish,

and they just wouldn't admit it.

That's ridiculous.

I never saw him happier than

the day we made the wedding announcement.

Are you sure about that?

I'm not sure about anything

except that my Father's dead,

my Mother's nuts,

and everyone is blaming me!

Please, come in.

Ask Luis to leave.

Don't be mad that

he didn't come to the funeral.

Thank God he didn't.

You don't approve of him?

It's not that; he just doesn't belong.

He's Hannah's boyfriend.

And he was Dad's protege.

It won't work out. They're too different.

If anything, they're too alike.

Tell her if she marries him,

she's not my daughter anymore.

Tell him to leave. If you don't, I will.

The sooner Hannah forgets him, the better.

You're really going too far now.

What are you doing here with a star?

Looking for the Gestapo.

Hold my purse over it.

- My mom has a star too.

- Do what I say.

You can't go in there.

I'm looking for my mom.

But not here, do you understand?

Not here.

Why are you doing that?

Ruth.

Silence, Rachel

Silence

Isn't it time to break the silence?

I need some peace.

You will never have peace

without forgiving all of us.

Shut up, Rachel.

This time I've given up for good.

You speak German?

Just like you, you and your mother.

This is your mother as a child in Berlin.

And the woman?

The woman who saved her life.

Saved her life?

My mom sent for Ruth to come live with us

in America after the war.

I thought she came to America alone.

That's true too.

My parents immigrated here

from Europe back in 1933.

I was born in the USA.

My name is Rachel Rosenbauer.

I'm your mother's cousin.

Hi! Rachel.

I'm so sorry that she never

told us anything about you.

Or about this woman.

Why didn't she?

It's all my fault,

even though I was just

a child at the time.

Just like your mother.

When she came to live with us,

I was terribly jealous of her.

She would secretly look at

this photo at night and cry.

I used to scold her...

and tell her to be quiet,

complaining that I couldn't sleep.

The truth was I didn't want my mom

coming in and taking her in her arms.

You see?

I was egoistical like all children.

Your mother never forgave me.

Little girl...

What are you doing by the men?

I'm looking for my mom.

She's got our ration stamps

and I'm hungry.

I'm sure she's here.

Then let's see, what's her name?

Miriam Suessmann.

A sound Jewish name. And yours?

Ruth, but when I was little,

my dad called me sweet pea.

She's in there.

Miriam Suessmann.

See, sweet pea, she's not here.

When the men came,

I hid behind the bathroom door...

just like you showed me.

You're my big girl.

Why didn't you come home?

They took us from the factory

and brought us here.

Everyone in the building is gone,

I'm all alone.

I'll come home soon,

I promise.

Please.

Go now, you heard what the keeper said.

I want to stay with you.

Please let me stay with you.

God will protect you.

Look...

You always wanted this.

I'll be sure not to lose it.

Please.

Have one of the women

outside take care of you.

Do you hear me?

I love you.

Now go...

Why did you want us

to speak German with you?

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Pamela Katz

Pamela Katz (born April 16, 1958) is an American screenwriter and novelist best known for her collaborations with director Margarethe von Trotta, including Rosenstrasse and Hannah Arendt. She is currently a teacher of screenwriting at the Tisch School of the Arts. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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