Rosalie: What true story is this movie starring Nadia Tereskevic and Benoit Magimel inspired by?

What is it about?

Rosalie is a young woman in France in 1870, but she is not as young as the others, hiding a secret: her face and body are covered with hair from birth. He was always forced to shave for fear of rejection. Until the day when Abel, a cafe owner driven by debt, marries her as a dowry without knowing her secret.

But Rosalie wants to be seen as a woman, despite her difference, which she no longer wants to hide. If the beard grows, it will eventually free itself. He wants Abel to love him for who he is, and to reduce the others to monsters. Will Abel be able to love her? Will he survive the cruelty of others?

After a visit to the Croisette in May 2023, Rosalie goes to the cinema. Inspired by the true story of Clemens DeLay, better known as The Bearded Lady, this film portrays a lesser-known woman. The feature film, while very classical in its approach, offers a form of rehabilitation and avoids any sensationalism.

A reflection on difference

The film, directed by Stefani Di Giusto, is intended to further highlight the difference and what some may perceive as “monster“There is no spectacular quest or approach to the beast of the fair.

“There I saw the great destiny of a womanNadia Tereskevich confides to our microphone. This is what cinema allows you to say. There is something big, and I wanted to be able to portray someone with that trajectory, far away from me and at the same time with whom I identify, because she has dreams, wants to be in love, have children, start a family, be a grown woman.

A romantic film that moves away from a biographical film

Rosalie is presented not as a biographical film, but as a romantic film, which leaves enough space for a love story between the characters played by Nadia Tereskevich and Benoit Magimel. Both won a César in 2023, the first as a female revelation for Les Amandiers, the second as best actor for Pacifiction.

“I really wanted to get away from biography– Stefani Di Giusto tells us. I was inspired by this woman named Clementine Delight, who was a famous bearded woman in the early 20th century. Very quickly, I wanted to go further and ask myself why I was investigating this topic so closely. What I loved about Clementine was the story of this woman who doesn’t want to be reduced to just a phenomenon, but is stuck in a life that has to have a woman’s life. Then I became interested in other women suffering from hirsutism, and this woman came up with a romantic destiny to conquer herself. I wanted to study feelings. It was very important for me to tell this love story“.

Complete transformation!

The lead role of Rosalie required a lot of preparation work to make the audience believe in the character suffering from hirsutism.

To discuss the “transformation” work, Nadia Tereskevich indicates the necessary time:I got up very, very early. It was several hours of preparation. It was a form of transition to becoming a characterAnd added: “There’s a costume that takes 40 minutes to put on with a corset, hair and normal makeup that took 2 hours. Not forgetting “hair to hair” which took more than 1h30.

“There was no real need for a role theory, in the sense that it’s almost a second skin. Getting physically into character has an impact. Feeling ashamed, feeling bad about yourself. (…) Honestly, it questioned my femininity, questioned my relationship with my body, the gaze of others“.

Stephanie Di Giusto’s Rosalie, starring Nadia Tereskevic, Benoit Magimel, Benjamin Biolet, Guillaume Guy, Juliette Armanet, opens in theaters this Wednesday, April 10, 2024.