From the opening moments of Rosetta, as we follow the titular character through slammed doors into the back room of the factory where she attacks her boss for firing her when her trial period is over, the camera is kept, almost exclusively, within close proximity of her.  Aside from enhancing the immediacy of her experiences, this forces us into her physical plane, intensifying her determination and suffering.  It is a technique typical of the Dardenne Bros., but for me, it achieves the greatest results here, in what is perhaps their most stripped-down and focused narrative to date.  There are no great plot twists or complex storylines, just a teenage girl in search of a job and what she calls "a normal life".  Left alone in the world, except for her promiscuous alcoholic mother who must be taken care of like an infant, she is desperate to rise above her situation, to conquer poverty and live like everyone else.

Rosetta, both the character and the film, remains less concerned with emotion than meeting the demands of the current moment.  She is driven only by her intense desire to work leaving little room or time for her to behave like a regular teenager.  Her machinelike endurance wears thin only once she becomes overcome by mysterious stomach pains - a minor inconvenience that only temporarily prevents her from moving forward.   The people she meets along the way interest her only so far as they can help her, until she meets Riquet, a young man working at a waffle stand that helps her get a job with the man who owns several similar stands.  He takes an interest in her and the two have a meal together setting up a brilliant sequence in which Riquet desperately seeks her approval, but receives no response from her until he drags her unwillingly out of her chair to dance with him.  The awkwardness of the moment is unsettling as his intense desire to connect with her is met only with Rosetta's complete inability to interact.  It is a simple sequence that powerfully highlights how her journey to transcend her environment and become like others has led her to shut down emotionally, remaining both unwilling and unable to connect with other human beings.

The films detractor's have complained that Rosetta is too bleak in its world view and presents us with nothing but suffering.  While it's true that it's not easy to watch, I can think of few other films that present the experience of the lower class so exhaustively, realistically, and powerfully.  It's an unflinching portrait of the human suffering that comes from living in poverty and the dehumanizing effects of being forced to live hand-to-mouth with no real hope of escaping.  The similarities to Robert Bresson's Mouchette are undeniable, but despite the similarities in their plot, setting, and tone, Rosetta is far from a simple reworking of that film.  The Dardenne Brothers are concerned with nothing other than Rosetta's experience and detailing her physical engagement with her environment.  Their film feels far more grounded than Bresson's masterpiece and their familiarity with the landscape, along with their abundant use of handheld camera shots, creates a documentary-like feel that makes Rosetta's journey believable and frighteningly real.  It can become tiresome or repetitive to some viewers, but if you can stay with Rosetta for 90 minutes, you're in for an emotionally devastating and brilliant little gem.