The Rose Maker

Had a little trouble getting to this preview. Hands up, I thought it was a Luna screening but it was actually at the Windsor. No matter, it turns out you can get from one cinema to the other in under 15 minutes. So, just in time to crimp off the end of a Matt Damon trailer, we settled in for The Rose Maker.

This lovingly made light drama, set in northern France, positions itself as one thing, and then not so subtly, takes a different tack. It opens with a prestigious flower show, where Madame Vernet (played with irascible verve by Catherine Frot) and her slightly beleaguered assistant, Véra (Olivia Côte) are clearly struggling to keep their small rose farm’s head above water. It only adds to their feeling of deflation when Lamarzelle, an oily business-oriented operator, wins the ‘rose of the year’ prize for the umpteenth time in a row.

So begins the themes of helplessness and desperation in the face of corporate power. Vernet’s farm was left to her by her father and she runs it like an artisan’s workshop. Lamarzelle (played by Vincent Dedienne), on the other hand, has a high yearly turnover and, crucially, is in the habit of buying up rare roses and denying access to other growers who may want to get into a spot of hybridising. This discovery by Vernet sets in motion the companion thread of the film. Véra comes up with a cash-saving plan to hire staff for the farm via a French version of work-for-the-dole. Three unlikely types arrive - Samir, Nadège and Fred – to the initial distaste of Mme Vernet. Samir (Fatsah Bouyahmed) is fifty and trying to escape his tiny apartment. Nadège (Marie Petoit) is shy and awkward, save for one cracking outburst in the third act. And Fred (Manel Foulgoc, alias rapper Melan Omerta) becomes the centre-piece of the film, the rose of the title. He’s the one who makes the most trouble and consequently, has the clearest arc in the film.

Somewhat irrationally, Vernet decides to steal a rare rose from Lamarzelle, and in a nasty move, threatens to send Fred and the others back if they don’t help her. This robbery is happily consigned to history as the film progresses, as though Lamarzelle’s ‘crime’ of not allowing freedom for others to use his property is worse than Vernet’s theft. Perhaps there would have been a visible form of retribution in the film, were this made in a more conservative film industry, but satisfyingly, it doesn’t happen in The Rose Maker.

There is a sub-plot about Fred’s absent parents to flesh out his character, and the ultimate reconnection with them is a neat moment of rebuke. But the essence of the film is the relationship between Vernet and Fred. Vernet’s realisation that Fred has a gift for recognising smells, and her subsequent warming to him, and the others, is where the focus remains. These final scenes may be predictable, but the way director, Pierre Pinaud and his writers have grafted the two story threads of resilience and regrowth together would make most rose growers proud. 

Incidentally, sister Mandy attests to the (near) accuracy of the flower husbandry/porn on show. For more of this insight, listen to the podcast attached.

The Rose Maker opens at Luna Palace Cinemas and Palace Cinemas on Aug 5th.

[Most of this review was also published on the Film Ink website - https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/the-rose-maker/]

See also:

This is a lot like the 2000 British film, Greenfingers, directed by Joel Hershman, and similar in nasal terms to Perfumes (2019), directed by Grégory Magne.

MILD SPOILERS AND FLORAL DESCRIPTIONS WITHIN POD!