Róza: History, Heartbreak, and a Lot of Grime

If you're looking for something to watch while eating popcorn on a Friday night, look elsewhere. Róza is a heavy, dusty, and often painful slog through history that demands you actually pay attention to the flicker of the frame. If you like historical dramas that don't try to pretty up the misery of the early 20th century, you’ll find something here. If you hate slow-burn pacing or movies where people spend more time whispering in corners than shooting at things, you’ll probably be bored within twenty minutes.

The whole thing is built around the 1905 revolution, but it doesn’t feel like a big budget epic. It feels like a stage play that escaped into the streets. There’s a scene early on where a crowd is just… standing there. It’s oddly quiet for a revolution. You can see the tension in their shoulders, but the movie isn't interested in grand speeches. It’s interested in the way people look at each other when they’re terrified of the police.

The cinematography is… well, it’s old. It’s got that scratchy, flickering energy you see in films like Tess of the D'Urbervilles, where the damage to the film stock actually adds to the atmosphere. Sometimes the actors are a bit too dramatic for 2024 eyes, throwing their hands up like they’re trying to catch rain. But then there’s a moment of silence, or a flicker of doubt in someone's eyes, and you forget the dated acting style.

There is this one sequence in a prison cell that goes on for a long time. Maybe too long. The shadows stretch across the wall, and you start to wonder if the projectionist fell asleep. But then, the way the light hits a character's face—it’s haunting. It feels more real than the polished stuff we get today.

It’s not a perfect movie. It’s uneven. Some scenes feel like they were filmed in a garage, and others have this genuine, sweeping weight to them. It doesn't hold your hand. It just drops you into 1905 and expects you to keep up with the politics and the heartache.

The romance part of it? It’s subtle. It’s not the main course, which I actually liked. It’s just a little bit of oxygen in a room that's running out of air. 💨

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. Is it worth your time if you like digging into older, grittier cinema? Absolutely. It’s got a pulse, even if it’s a tired one.

• The prison scenes are surprisingly claustrophobic.
• The background extras in the protest scenes look like they haven't slept in a week. (Which is probably accurate.)
• The sound design is basically just scratches and wind, but it works.