Madame Rosa (1977) on Netflix
Madame Rosa, a retired prostitute and Auschwitz survivor, runs a home in Belleville for the children of prostitutes. Momo, an Algerian boy she raises as a Muslim, asks her about his parents.
- Netflix4.0/5
- IMDb7.2/101,989 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes89%
Plot summary
Momo is the oldest child in the Belleville boarding home kept by Madame Rosa. She raises him as a Muslim and sends him to her friend Mr. Hamil at the Grand Mosque for lessons in religion, French literature and Arabic. She conceals that he is 14 and gives his age as 11, so he cannot attend a regular primary school, and she answers his questions about his parents evasively. Money is tight, so Momo performs on the street with a puppet to earn a few coins. Madame Rosa regards him as a troublemaker and takes him to her physician, Dr. Katz.
Cast
- Nadia Samir
- Renata Flores
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Madame Rosa (1977)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Madame Rosa's release, while US President Jimmy Carter was negotiating peace between Egypt's Anwar Sadat and Israel's Menachem Begin, boosted its Academy Awards campaign; it won Best Foreign Language Film, making Mizrahi the first Israeli director whose film won the award.
- Signoret was advised by her husband Yves Montand not to take the role of Madame Rosa and refused it for a year.
- For the part, Signoret gained significant weight, wore undersized floral dresses chosen by Mizrahi, and was made to look 10 years older with accentuated wrinkles, cotton-widened cheeks and padded legs.
