"Der Rosenkönig" or "The Rose King" is a West German film from 1986, so it has its 30th anniversary this year. The director is Werner Schroeter and he also wrote this film together with his lead actress Magdalena Montezuma based on a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. The film runs for slightly over 100 minutes. Montezuma worked with Schroeter on several occasions and this is her very last on-screen performance before her untimely death. The title already gives away that roses play a major role in this film, or do they really? I personally felt the inclusion of these flowers served nothing other than to make a connection to the title really. Still, I must say I have seen worse from Schroeter and at least there are occasional indicators of decent story-telling, mostly in the first half and also some solid music, two aspects that are missing in other Schroeter films entirely despite his attempts to include them there too.
Nonetheless, the film dragged a lot and I cannot say I cared for any of the characters at all, or for the story. Yes it is a very strange film for sure and I also think this one may have worked better on the stage as a theater play. As a film, there is really nothing memorable about it except its bizarreness. The performances are also not memorable and the title is misleading as the movie is mostly about Montezuma's character, so it should be called "The Rose Queen" / "Die Rosenkönigin" perhaps. Schroeter, who died over five years ago, was very prolific in the 1970s and 1980s, but then did not make too many films after 1986 anymore. Several of his works are female-centered (like Fassbinder, who also worked with Montezuma), but judging from what I saw here, I cannot say I care a lot about other films from his body of work. I don't recommend the watch.
Nonetheless, the film dragged a lot and I cannot say I cared for any of the characters at all, or for the story. Yes it is a very strange film for sure and I also think this one may have worked better on the stage as a theater play. As a film, there is really nothing memorable about it except its bizarreness. The performances are also not memorable and the title is misleading as the movie is mostly about Montezuma's character, so it should be called "The Rose Queen" / "Die Rosenkönigin" perhaps. Schroeter, who died over five years ago, was very prolific in the 1970s and 1980s, but then did not make too many films after 1986 anymore. Several of his works are female-centered (like Fassbinder, who also worked with Montezuma), but judging from what I saw here, I cannot say I care a lot about other films from his body of work. I don't recommend the watch.