Madame Rosa

Stars: Simone Signoret (Diabolique, I Sent a Letter to My Love), Samy Ben Youb. Long out-of-print (formerly a Vestron Video release), this 1977 gem which captured an Oscar for Best Foreign Film stars Simone Signoret in the title role as an aging Jewish prostitute who lives in a rundown apartment (at the top of six flights of stairs), and watches the illegitimate children of younger prostitutes. Living on money orders and wits, Madame Rosa provides for the children while keeping her eye out for good situations for her young charges. The film focuses on one young kid, in particular, 11-year-old Momo (Samy Ben Youb), an Arab boy whose sense of loneliness and frustration become evident in some rather strange acts (such as selling the family dog and then throwing away the money). The no-nonsense Madame Rosa promptly marches Momo's butt to her doctor, but, of course, nothing is wrong with the boy--except for his broken heart. When Madame Rosa's health suddenly takes a turn for the worse, the roles are reversed, and Momo fiercely embraces his new role of responsibility in taking care of his ailing surrogate mother. Although the print is a bit scratchy in places, Madame Rosa is such a wonderful film--both as a straightforward story and as a meditation on subjects as diverse as maternal love and ethnic tolerance--that the occasional rough spot can be overlooked. Audience: Foreign film fans absolutely; and, hopefully, more adventurous souls who might be looking for that increasingly rare bird--a good story.