The Danish film “Rose” is an epic physical and spiritual journey of Inger (Sofie Gråbøl) on a bus trip from Denmark to Paris. Inger is institutionalized with schizophrenia but she is sufficiently functional (if not driven) to travel with her sister Ellen (Lene Marie Christensen) and husband Vagn (Anders W. Berthelsen) on a group coach tour to Paris from Denmark.
What follows on the screen is a riveting journey of mystery, suspense and disappointment for Ellen, Inger, Vagn and the entire group of coach passengers. The louder your anguish manifests itself near the conclusion of the film the more successful it is and considering the director is Niels Anders Oplev of The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo success is not surprising. You will be up and down with a full range of emotions to the point you must concede this film, just under two hours, is indeed an epic.
Inger’s mental illness is accepted by just about all the coach passengers except for the prig Andreas (Soren Malling) a tiresome, misguided and weak moralizer. But Inger can be charming and witty at times and paranoid at other times. Sofie Gråbøl delivers a masterful performance as Inger.
Learn about what triggered Inger’s schizophrenia. See sisterly love clash with an overbearing and protective mother. Question why children may accept mental illness and try and pierce it and form a bond with a mentally ill fellow human being. Who exactly is Rose in the film and is she killed off by the demon Goldensun? And finally the obsession of Vagn to visit Princess Di’s underpass crash is crucial to the fate of Inger.
And finally enjoy the sights of Paris. On my last two visits to Paris I stayed at a friend’s condo just around the corner from the Pont de l’Alma underpass where Princess Di uttered her last words. Having been to all the tourist spots in Paris and of course Versailles I felt strangely at home in a Paris outside the tourist enclaves and the film has me aching to return.
Theatrical release in Canada on 24November2023.
RKS 2023 Film Rating: 96/100.
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