‘Rosetta’: the Belgian Palme d’Or winner that inspired real-world change
Saying that cinema has the power to change the world is a statement that can often come across as saccharine, cloying, and needlessly sentimental. However, 1999’s Rosetta did a stellar job of raising awareness for very real social and societal concerns.
Written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the moving and unflinchingly intimate portrait of trying to survive in the face of a broken system follows Émilie Dequenne’s title character trying to make the best of a downtrodden life, which she shares in a caravan park with her alcoholic mother. In a desperate quest to build a better existence for herself, she strives to find gainful employment with the hopes of securing an upgraded living situation. She wants a life that would allow her to leave her dilapidated surroundings and difficult familial relationships behind in order to gain a more stable, secure, and meaningful existence.
After premiering at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival, Rosetta would be showered in acclaim, being named the unanimous winner of the prestigious Palme d’Or, while Dequenne was awarded the prize for ‘Best Actress’. Beyond that, the movie even lent its name to Belgian legislation that echoed several of its most prominent thematic motifs.
Shortly after its release, a bill was introduced in the country that prohibited employers from paying teenagers less than the minimum wage, among other youth-driven reforms. While it quickly became an urban legend that the so-called ‘Rosetta Law’ had been drafted based entirely on how well-received the Dardenne brothers’ feature was, the duo shot down the speculation.
“No, that law already existed, it just hadn’t been voted through yet,” Jean-Pierre informed The Guardian. “The truth is always less interesting than the fiction.” It might not have spurred the nation’s politicians into action, then, but neither can it be overlooked that the timeline places Rosetta perfectly in sync with the bill that colloquially bore its name.
Laurette Onkelinkx – then the Minster for Employment – outlined the framework for a ‘youth employment plan’ that would seek to provide a job for all people within six months of completing their studies. There was harsh criticism from employers and trade unions at the time, but it was eventually refined to the point of being approved in November 1999.
The initial plans were floated in September of that year, which also happened to be the very same month the Dardenne brothers’ Rosetta premiered in local cinemas. As a result, the term ‘Rosetta Law’ was applied to the incoming governmental plan, creating a direct connection between the two, regardless of the fact it wasn’t the movie that lit the touchpaper to begin with.
The urban legend is a great deal more romantic and stirring, though, but the changes bore Rosetta‘s name in the long term regardless of the ball being set rolling prior to the film’s release.
