Sandra Hüller in 'Rose.' SchubertROW-PicturesWalkerWorm-FilmGerald_Kerkletz Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment The title role in the austerely beautiful character study Rose is such a thrilling fit for Sandra Hüller - her flinty manner, her fierce conviction, her steely charisma and her incredible economy of means - that it becomes impossible to imagine any other actor nailing the part. Or at least nailing it with such bold definition. Markus Schleinzer's expertly crafted film, shot in expressive black and white, tells the haunting tale of an early 17th century German woman whose gender expression allowed her to pass as a soldier, survive the Thirty Years' War, take possession of a long-abandoned farm, gain the respect of the Protestant villagers and even become a husband and father. Related Stories Movies Berlin Hidden Gem: Indonesian Auteur Edwin Takes a Cue from Jordan Peele for Anti-Capitalist Horror-Comedy 'Sleep No More' Movies 'Tutu' Offers a Joyous Inside Look at a Nobel Prize Winner (Exclusive Video) Opening text describes Rose more colorfully, in the kind of sensationalized language that might have been used by an itinerant bard of the time: "The true and twisted tale of a deceiver of land and folk, who, defying her birth as a woman, comported herself as a man and committed many a wicked deed." Rose The Bottom Line An eloquent demolition of the gender binary. Venue: Berlin Film Festival (Competition)Cast: Sandra Hüller, Caro Braun, Marisa Growaldt, Robert Gwisdek, Godehard Giese, Sven-Eric BechtolfDirector: Markus SchleinzerScreenwriters: Markus Schleinzer, Alexander Brom 1 hour 33 minutes The scandalized tone of that plot précis is a clever ruse on the part of director Schleinzer and his co-writer Alexander Brom. It sets the scene for a scurrilous period romp when in fact Rose is a sober portrait, rich in poignant observation and psychological complexity, of a woman who bravely forged her own path, inventing a life that would never have been available to her without the disguise. "There's more freedom in a pair of trousers," Rose tells the judge (Sven-Eric Bechtolf) hearing her case late in the film. The directness and simplicity of that statement make it clear that, more than an elaborate fraud or a trickster long con, Rose just seized an opportunity for self-realization that eliminated the hurdles for women of that era. Carrying off that deception for as long as she does makes Rose a trailblazing queer hero, even if Hüller rejects any kind of self-glorifying ennoblement in her characterization. Over the past 10 years, Hüller has built an international reputation as a major talent, most notably in the films Toni Erdmann, The Zone of Interest and Anatomy of a Fall, the latter earning her an Oscar nomination for best actress. Rose is another extraordinary showcase for her gifts and a master class in the art of acting with rigor, honesty, physicality and zero showiness. It's almost disappointing to discover that the story is fictional and Rose is not an obscure historical footnote. Rather, she is an amalgamation of hundreds of women from various centuries that Schleinzer encountered in his research, who chose to present as male for any number of reasons - work access, education, avoidance of criminal charges, rape protection, escape from arranged marriages. Transgender identity and lesbian desire also surfaced, though the writers are interested less in queerness than self-determination. What they have created is a character who may not have existed but nonetheless feels lifted from flesh-and-blood history. Not much is revealed about Rose's past outside the fairy tale narration of Marisa Growaldt, who establishes that the stranger approaching through woodlands fought in the war and is in possession of a document certifying that he is the heir to a farm in an isolated rural village. We never learn what male name Rose goes by. The young man, who continues to wear his uniform, is called "the soldier" by the villagers, "the master" by his wife (more about her in a minute) and "the defendant" by the bailiff. The farm has been so long neglected that its barn and homestead are in complete disrepair, its fields untended and its livestock distributed among the villagers, none of whom volunteer to return the animals. But the outsider has money which they are happy to take in exchange for services. With the help of farmhands, the soldier repairs the buildings and brings the land back to life, rising in the villagers' estimation - and acquiring another appellation, "the bear-killer" - when he puts a bullet in a beast after it leaves one of them mauled and near death. His agrarian aptitude makes the man eager to expand. In a drily funny scene with a neighboring farmer (Godehard Giese), he negotiates to buy additional lan