The last shot of Rosetta combines the camera language and sounds to make the movie end in meaning. It is a long shot start at 1:23:05 and end at 1:28:12, which last 5 minutes without any cut and belongs to the suicide part. The segment narrates that Rosetta tempts to commit a suicide with gas but the original one ran out, so she buys a new one but is stopped by Riquet.
This shot could be divided into three parts.
The first part
The first part begins at the point when Rosetta gets the gas from the man and end at the first put down of the gas bottle.
In this frame, Rosetta looks smaller than the man and is weaker because she has to try really hard to carry the gas bottle but the men could carry it in only one hand. Then the camera moves with Rosetta to give a medium shot of her painfully twisted face and up body.
This shot shows Rosetta's alert expression when hearing the noisy engine voice of Riquet's motorbike.
When following Rosetta, the camera changes with different shots. It follows the step of Rosetta with close-up shot of her miserable expression, portraying her from her shoulder. Or it shots Rosetta from her back. Along with the camera movement, Rosetta's erratic and thick breathing voice is also describing her pain and tiredness.
The burden on Rosetta is reflected by these shots and voice. Firstly, the gas bottle makes Rosetta physically under pressure. The gas bottle is too heavy for her to carry, which makes her suicide plan rather difficult. Second, the noisy voice of Riquet's motorbike emerges, bringing her the unwanted trouble and emotional pressure. Although the camera movement uses following and could only capture part of Rosetta's behaviors, this kind of minimalism makes the movie more realistic. Morgan (2008) pointed that “we do not view Rosetta, we intercept her like a moving target at close range”. The camera brings the viewers to closely intercept Rosetta and this make her image as a marching fighter more salient. She is still fight with obstacles as she chooses to die with dignity.
The second part
The second part of this shot is between Rosetta's first putting down of the gas bottle at 1:25:25 and the second putting down of it at 26:33.
At the point when Rosetta rises up the gas bottle, the annoying noise of motorbike comes back. The noise getting louder and louder, which gradually covers the heavy breathing of Rosetta. The camera keeps following and tilting with Rosetta's stumble. The medium shot shows her expression gets more acute and afflictive.
Then Riquet starts to appear from this frame, his face with doubting and blaming expression encircle Rosetta. Rosetta becomes smaller in these frames. In the following frames, Rosetta puts down the gas bottle and throw pebbles on Riquet. The camera is still tilting constantly.
By belying Rosetta's breathing, the gradually louder noises of the motorcycle symbols that Rosetta drown in the trouble of the job dispute with Riquet. This voice, along with Riquet's complaining face expression, interrogating and entangling Rosetta. Riquet's circling is also like trapping Rosetta. He does not know that Rosetta is going to commit a suicide. For Rosetta, Riquet's behaviors are making him an “other” and no one understand her situation. Even though they used to be friends, they become antagonists when face the question of job and living . No one cares Rosetta's mood and the world is still opposite to her even she is going to suicide.
The third part
Then Rosetta puts down the gas bottle at 1:27:05 for the third time. The high-angle shot shows her crouching body. Her heavy breathing voice becomes cough and groan. This high-angle shot is similar to Riquet's point of view.
Then a close-up shot shows Riquet's hand holding Rosetta up. This frame does not show Riquet's face but only his hands.
The last close-up shot shows Rosetta's afraid and miserable expression for the first time. Her eyes shed the fear which does not exist before. The camera shakes with her trembling.
Rosetta has got off the mask as a young fighter who always bumps against the world with her body. Her crying voice and pathetic face are saying that she could not handle her burden. The close-up shot shows only the hands, which is known to all than it is Riquet. However, avoiding showing his face could be interpreted that it is not necessary to be Riquet, instead that every people should help Rosetta. The elimination of Riquet's face makes Rosetta's dilemma and suffer stand out, which also invites the viewers bring themselves and evokes their empathy.
More interpretation:
The minimalistic narrative works well by combing the voices, images and viewer's involvement. For the voices, it is a strong narrator in this shot. By using the changing noises of motorcycle, the voice tells where Riquet locates. It also boosts the
uneasy and oppressive atmosphere. Riquet's motor noises and Rosetta's heavy breathing voices interact with each other, becoming their new language and explaining their moods. Rosetta's groan at last explains that she is already on the edge. Her crying is reminding the viewers that she is just an 18 girl who should not burden so much. For the images, the handhold shaking effect and minimalism make this shot more documentary and realistic. The camera tends to follow Resetta's movement and often shoot through her shoulder. This close physical distance could make role's obscuration deepened. Talking about the viewer's involvement, this minimalistic also take the viewers into consideration. The camera is showing the image, not telling a story. Morgan (2008) maintained that the viewers fit the enigmatic scenes together like a puzzle. Indeed,the minimalistic showing does not tell a clear logic of the plot. Therefore, the viewers have to combine what they received together. The voices become a good narrator in this shot for viewers. Additionally, the shaking camera also invites the viewers to experience Rosetta's pace and her “fighting mode”.
For the ending, this minimalistic shot makes it blur and gives the viewers more space to image and reflect on youth unemployment issue.
In a nutshell, the sounds and minimalistic shooting vividly portray Rosetta's breakdown in the end, pushing the plot and evoking more thoughts on the theme.
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