Ginger & Rosa
2012 · Directed by Sally Potter
Original language: English
- drama
The story
A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event the comes to redefine their relationship.
What it’s like
Cold, grainy London light in the early 1960s: overcast skies, damp streets, bare kitchen windows and smoky bedrooms lit by lamps and the flicker of a television. Sally Potter's camera stays close and patient on two girls' faces, with long takes that let silences gather, and the palette runs to pale greys, faded blues and the dull red of protest placards. Sound is sparse, with radio news and distant crowds pressing in against quiet domestic rooms and an unsettled, scraping score. The mood is cold-war dread braided with adolescent tenderness, a slow, sombre ache rather than suspense. It suits a grey afternoon, a quiet evening alone, or a thoughtful rewatch with someone you trust. Its emotional intensity is high but restrained: the story turns on betrayal, family rupture and a frightening sense of the adult world closing in, with no graphic violence and only brief, frank sexual and romantic moments. Bleak at times and quietly devastating, it's for viewers who enjoy poetic, character-driven drama about friendship, politics and coming of age.
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