Rosa Luxemburg

Released Apr 10, 1986

2h 2m

Biography

Drama

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100%

5 Reviews

Tomatometer

54%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

In this biopic, Rosa Luxemburg (Barbara Sukowa), a dedicated Marxist and pacifist, is arrested in 1905 for her political activities. Determined to stick to her principles, she goes on to be repeatedly convicted and imprisoned for her protests and speeches. In 1915, growing disillusioned with the German Social Democrats when they endorse World War I, she founds the Sparticist League as an alternative. Despite the many men in her life, Rosa remains focused on social justice.

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Audience Member

Wanted to watch this to know more about her than that she was a communist who was thrown into a canal in Berlin after having been shot in 1919 or so. Stylish film with a LOT of political heated speeches. did not move me much, but she did fight hard in the men's world at the time.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Miten tästä henkilöstä VOI tehdä näin lattean ja mitäänsanomattoman elokuvan?

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Audience Member

Beautiful and touching at times but not very satisfying politically or educationally. Why was Rosa feared by the authorities of Empire and Republic alike? This is not the subject of the film. I would liked to have seen the leaders of the prewar SPD defined by their actions instead of paraded around, but perhaps that already says it all. As a history nerd I delight in spotting luminaries like Jaures, Bebel and Kautsky, but without knowing the historical context a layman is lost at sea. Luxemburg's private life is highlighted but her ideological work gets only fragmentary attention. Still, I enjoyed the scenes with her prison garden, beloved cat Mimi, and her personal compassion for fellow creatures great and small.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

Among the many virtues of Rosa Luxemberg is the aesthetic and political sense it makes of the beliefs and behaviour of people who once lived to make a better world. The film personifies the ideals of the radical movements that swept Europe at the turn of the century. The film directed by perhaps the best-known female director Margarethe von Trotta and featuring Barbara Sukowa as Luxemberg, avoids what might have been mere propaganda, not only to deal with history in all its messy complexities but also portray its heroine as a tragic figure who inadvertently unleashed the forces that destroyed her. Rosa Luxemberg (1871-1919) was one of the most talented women of her era. Having been born in Russian Poland to a family of wealthy merchants, she became interested in socialism and, at 18, was forced to flee to Switzerland because of her revolutionaty activities. A symbol of courage and rectitude, she fought against every prejudice and handicap. Born with a deformed foot, Luxemberg walked with a limp , and in the film she refers to herself as a 'lame duck' and was regarded as too young to be a serious political thinker. Despite its focus on complex theoretical matters, the film however makes numerous transitions from the political to the personal. In one scene, Luxemberg is marched blindfolded into a room and forced to stand against a wall as the order "Fire!" is given. She flinches and her thoughts flash back to her childhood.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

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Audience Member

Margarethe von Trotta , a very skilled director , makes a movie the life of famous " red Rosa " , a legend woman . very good film , in the page of the film , there is a full analysis about her by lutar1 ..its important to know things of her epoch , before watch the film

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Margarethe von Trotta

Director

Barbara Sukowa

Rosa Luxemburg

Daniel Olbrychski

Leo Jogiches

Otto Sander

Karl Liebknecht

Adelheid Arndt

Luise Kautsky

Jürgen Holtz

Karl Kautsky

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Gianni Marini

The Skinny

Von Trotta finds poetry in Luxemburg's own writing, creating images that emphasise the deepness of her humanity in a historical period so often over-simplified.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 6, 2019

Full Review

Rob Aldam

Backseat Mafia

A film which is ripe for these tumultuous times.

Feb 4, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Jun 25, 2005

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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Presents an inspiring and impressionistic portrait of the European socialist leader.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 27, 2004

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TV Guide

Rated: 4/5

Jul 30, 2003

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Synopsis

In this biopic, Rosa Luxemburg (Barbara Sukowa), a dedicated Marxist and pacifist, is arrested in 1905 for her political activities. Determined to stick to her principles, she goes on to be repeatedly convicted and imprisoned for her protests and speeches. In 1915, growing disillusioned with the German Social Democrats when they endorse World War I, she founds the Sparticist League as an alternative. Despite the many men in her life, Rosa remains focused on social justice.

Director: Margarethe von Trotta
Screenwriter: Margarethe von Trotta
Distributor: Artificial Eye, New Yorker Films
Production Co: Pro-ject Filmproduktion [de], Regina Ziegler Filmproduktion [de], Westdeutscher Rundfunk, Bioskop Film, Filmové studio Barrandov, Baerenfilm
Genre: Biography, Drama
Original Language: German
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 10, 1986, Wide
Runtime: 2h 2m