ode to difference and hymn to love, a delight signed Stéphanie Di Giusto and worn by Nadia Tereszkiewicz

With “Rosalie”, her second film, Stéphanie Di Giusto delicately transcribes the desire of a woman to experience her difference and to be accepted as such, first and foremost by her husband.

Rosalie prays that her future husband will love her. This is one of the first images from Stéphanie Di Giusto’s latest film, Rosaliein theaters on 10 april. The filmmaker places her camera on a young woman like no other, played by the actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz who offers, with great accuracy, all her candor to the character of a woman with a beard.

Thanks to a careful shave, Rosalie hides a secret that her husband, Benoît Magimel, alias Abel, discovers during his wedding night. Although he married her for her dowry in order to cope with his financial difficulties, Abel nonetheless hoped to live with a “woman”. Rejected by her partner, to whom she very quickly confided her desire to have children, Rosalie decides to live her difference and above all to put it at the service of the café which Abel owns and which is struggling.

For his second film, just as for his first, The dancer, both presented at Un Certain Regard in Cannes, Stéphanie Di Giusto was inspired by a woman who existed, Clémentine Delait, a famous bearded woman at the beginning of the 20th century. century.

The fiction constructed by the filmmaker seeks to show how, after recovering from the disgust that she seems to inspire in her husband, Rosalie decides to be useful to him by using her appearance for the financial salvation of her home. The young woman knows that she will arouse the curiosity of the community in which she lives in this France of 1870 and is banking on this feeling to expand the bistro’s clientele.

Choosing to embrace your appearance against all odds

Rosalie’s candor and joy of living, finally liberated and free, make her a naturally endearing person, even if her illness, hirsutism, and the physique it gives her shocks as much as it fascinates. The word “monster” is also heard in the small community in which she arrives. Disgust, Stéphanie Di Giusto demonstrates, is a very relative social construction. The character of a nun, speaking kindly to Rosalie, points out to her : “We are all special cases, no ?”

As Rosalie gains confidence, Abel can (re)discover her and perhaps fall in love with his wife. Benoît Magimel clearly captures the frustration and curiosity that inhabit his character, whose point of view will subtly evolve. How to resist this Rosalie whose charm is sublimated by photography ? The immaculate whiteness of the wedding dress and pastel tones reinforce the delicacy of the heroine whom the camera caresses, obviously filming up close. Rosalie’s sumptuous hair can be observed from all angles, like her beard, to arrive at the same conclusion. : all his hairs are beautiful even if the latter are considered unsightly.

The story thus emphasizes the beauty and sensuality of a woman full of life. Contrary to what his detractors would have us believe. The lustful gaze of Barcelin, her husband’s creditor played by Benjamin Biolay, is irrefutable proof of this. By exploring the plurality of reactions to difference and relying on the very convincing and sensitive duo Tereszkiewicz-Magimel, Stéphanie Di Giusto offers a delicate and poignant filmic experience with Rosalie.

The sheet

Gender : Drama
Director: Stephanie Di Giusto
Actors: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Benoît Magimel, Benjamin Biolay, Guillaume Gouix, Gustave Kervern, Anna Biolay and Juliette Armanet
Country : France
Duration : 1h55
Exit : April 10, 2024
Distributer : Gaumont