Page - 55 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 02/02

Visionary Critique | 55www.jrfm.eu 2016, 2/2, 45–66 weakness because they imply emotional and material dependency and exploita- tion, the typical traps for women in patriarchal society, which she experiences in particular in consequence of her relationship with her alcoholic mother. In- stead of furthering her relationships, Rosetta therefore strives for autonomy and self-reliance, and refuses welfare and gifts that she has not earned herself. Rosemarie Scullion25 argues that Rosetta has internalized the demands of neo- liberal capitalism that thrives on individualism and the pursuit of one’s own best self-interest: when Riquet slips in the lake, Rosetta hesitates to help him out, because she might be able to take over his job, and she uses her knowledge about his illegal waffle sales to have him fired. While Rosetta represents the neo-liberal, precariat subject, according to Scullion, Riquet offers an alternative of solidarity, even if not without his own “ethical lapses” when he pursues Ro- setta and physically threatens her.26 When he offers Rosetta his hand to help her up at the end of the film, when she is at the lowest point and about to commit suicide, Scullion argues, his “gesture begins to release her from her abject pose … a generous, forgiving act that holds out the possibility of restored trust.”27 However, in order to fully understand the importance of relationship and solidarity in the film, it is necessary to take two additional factors into account, namely Rosetta’s relationship of care with her mother, and Riquet’s independ- ence – as far as we know – from others, which mirror the typical gendered real- ity of relationships and care in neo-liberal societies. Riquet acts only for himself when he offers to let Rosetta share his under-the-counter waffle sales, but he does so with the presumption that Rosetta is as autonomous as he is. Yet in Rosetta’s situation, a legal job has a different significance than it has for Riquet: 25 Cf. Scullion 2014. 26 Scullion 2014, 77. 27 Scullion 2014, 78. Fig. 4: Film still, Rosetta (FR/BE 1999), 01:13:13.