Praise for Sandra Hüller’s Rose at the Berlin Film Festival
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, the new film Rose, starring the actress of Anatomy of a Fall, has been met with acclaim at the Berlin International Film Festival*. In the film, Sandra Hüller plays a woman in the early seventeenth century who outwardly enters the battlefield disguised as a male soldier. By the festival’s fifth day, the film was leading the Berlin critics’ scoreboard with an average of 3.3 stars.
The Yellow Letters and Dao had previously received positive reviews at this year’s edition, but Rose is the first Berlinale title to spark unanimous critical praise.
The black-and-white film is directed by Markus Schleinzer, whose credits include Michael and Angelo, and who previously served as casting director for Michael Haneke. The story follows a mysterious soldier named Rose, played by Hüller, who appears in a remote Protestant village presenting as a man and claims to be the heir to an abandoned farm. To prove the claim, she presents a document to the suspicious villagers.
Film Verdict describes the film as “a compelling account of gender politics in seventeenth-century Germany” that provides “a showcase for Sandra Hüller’s remarkable acting talent.”
Variety writes: “Hüller once again astonishes in Markus Schleinzer’s restrained tale of gender possession… Eight years after the premiere of Angelo, an excellent yet rarely screened work, the Austrian auteur returns to European history to craft a seemingly simple folk tragedy with searing emotional impact.”
Screen calls Hüller an acting “phenomenon” and finds the film’s character work “affecting.” Loud and Clear shares that view, writing: “The linear structure of Rose and its unwavering focus on the central character, played by Sandra Hüller, create a deeply affecting characterization, even if it is often simple.”
The German publication Der Spiegel has described the film as a “triumph” for Hüller and her performance as “brilliant.”
Hüller won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 2006 Berlinale for Requiem and has since appeared in films such as Toni Erdmann and The Zone of Interest. She will soon be seen in Project Hail Mary opposite Ryan Gosling.
