Anyone who has read Siegfried Lenz's The Heritage will find it easier to understand the message of Wojciech Smarzowski's film, since the story takes place in the Masuria region of Poland right after World War II and deals with members of the German population there in an era when people are trying to rebuild their war-torn lives. Except for those who are trying to determine who qualify as Poles and who are foreigners and enemies. Who stood on the right side in the resistance, and who was on the wrong one. And who should be deprived of their rights. Because this is quite a good business, allowing one to indulge in a bit of robbery, a bit of rape and murder. People can be set on each other. After the wartime trenches, there are even deeper pits to be dug and new fields to mine. A civil war to follow a general one. Hungarians will be familiar with this from their own history, but nobody should think that it was any easier to be a Pole. (Anyone who has ever glanced through a history book will already know something about this.)
There has been much discussion recently about what constitutes disturbing content (look up the expression "trigger warning” ), but in all the brouhaha, it's growing more and more difficult to determine exactly what this is. In the case of Rose, there can be no doubt. This film does not put a pretty face on dark hatred for new bogeymen, the thirst for revenge and base passions. It brutally depicts humiliation and deprivation, along with the degradation of human dignity and the disintegration of law and morality. It's a shocking and upsetting film that requires a strong character and a clear head to watch.

This series has been made possible with the cooperation of the Polish Institute in Budapest.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest