ROSE (NYFF 2026) – Review by Margaret Barton-Fumo
Making its New York premiere in the Main Slate of this year’s NYFF, Markus Schleinzer’s third feature Rose is a formal marvel, as well as an excellent vehicle for its lead actor, the always impressive Sandra Hüller (who recently won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance at the Berlin Film Festival). Set in the 16th century during the Thirty Years War, Hüller plays a world-weary woman who disguises herself as a male soldier and sets out to claim a fallen associate’s inheritance. Intent on convincing the suspicious villagers of her flimsy false identity, Rose agrees to marry a young woman in exchange for more land and a modest dowry. Caro Braun plays Suzanna, Rose’s initially shy bride, and gives a wide-ranging, expressionistic performance. With the help of Suzanna, Rosa is able to uphold her ruse for a while, but her precarious lifestyle inevitably falls apart, pushing the two women even closer together.
Hüller’s appearance as Rose is convincingly gritty; her character’s face is noticeably disfigured and she has a habit of chewing on the very bullet that once shot through her cheek. Her attitude is gruff and reserved, in tune with a masculine identity. And yet some of the formal aspects and framing devices of the film are quite feminine. The score by Marcin Masecki is delicate and ethereal, with women and a children’s choir vocalizing wordless lyrics. A woman’s voiceover guides the narrative, detailing Rose’s troubles in a matter-of-fact tone. Our heroine is clearly suffering at the hands of a patriarchal society, as she eventually admits, “I didn’t want to be a man. There is more freedom in trousers.” Her eventual downfall is especially brutal, but Schleinzer presents it in an elegant manner, choosing to describe rather than show Rose and Suzanna’s worst moments.
Gerald Kerkletz’s cinematography is also notably striking, shot in lush black and white. The film opens with stark, unnervingly picturesque images of skeletons, indicating both the wartime carnage that preceded the story as well as the tragedy to come. Indeed, Schleinzer indicates a lot without directly showing much, which could be interpreted as a weakness or shortcoming, depending upon the viewer. Considering that Schleinzer is a man directing a film about women’s trauma, some restraint could also be seen as an act of respect, and in good taste. There are certainly enough violent, exploitative films about women already in existence. Carried by Hüller and Braun’s magnetic performances, Schleinzer presents a compelling story within a highly formal framework. An accomplished casting director and actor, the filmmaker continues here to progress as a storyteller, prioritizing women’s voices as he hasn’t before with his previous films Michael (2011) and Angelo (2018). If anything the film can be criticized as a slight effort, emphasizing style over substance while eliding over key elements of the drama. But Rose moves with a swift and well-tooled efficiency that still allows for emotional beats to resonate. Most viewers will leave the film with a heavy heart, significantly affected by Hüller’s performance. Paired with Pawel Pawlikowski’s Fatherland, which also plays at NYFF, the actress has delivered a mammoth two-hander that will surely reverberate throughout the upcoming awards season.
