Rosalie

Rosalie (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) is a character born out of director Stephanie Di Gusto’s encounter and subsequent fascination with the historical figure of Clémentine Delait, a woman whose fearless charisma in the face of her hirsutism made her something of a cult figure in France at the turn of the 20^th century. While not a direct biopic of Delait, Rosalie uses the tenets of her story and personality as a means of navigating ambitiously knotty, interloping ruminations on femininity, autonomy and the male gaze.

Di Gusto’s Rosalie is a timid girl whose hirsutism has been a secret burden from childhood. It is a burden that has also proved a barrier to marriage until indebted cafe owner Abel (Benoît Magimel), who has been physically and psychologically wounded in the course of battle, weds her for a dowry of 15,000 francs, ignorant of Rosalie’s condition until their wedding night.

It’s an unusual tale of coming-of-age, with the customary genre beats of sexual awakening infused with the specific distinctness of Rosalie’s appearance. Much of the film is concerned with the wrestling back of autonomy in the face of extreme othering, a noble theme, even if her transition from timidity and embarrassment to prideful ownership of her condition is somewhat sharp.

As her local celebrity grows, Rosalie becomes an oft-photographed figure, as the feature uses her numerous photoshoots to signpost her growing poise. Di Gusto seems to place particular emphasis on the almost violent aggression of the camera flash, an intrusive imposition of the male gaze and objectifying standards of beauty on the young woman. Rosalie responds with a fright at first, before growing nonchalant in the face of its glare, going so far as to direct her own appearance in a fateful photograph.

It’s a sometimes intimate, often erratic, but refreshingly unusual love story anchored by Tereszkiewicz’s charming central performance.

Matthew McMillan

Rosalie is released in select cinemas on 7^th June 2024.

Watch the trailer for Rosalie here: