For Roseanna

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82%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 1,459

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Movie Info

A man trying to honor the last wish of his beloved wife has to keep an entire city alive in this bittersweet romantic comedy. Marcello (Jean Reno) is the owner of a restaurant in a small village in Italy. His wife Roseanna (Mercedes Ruehl) has received some awful news: she has learned that her weak heart has gotten worse, and she has only a few weeks to live. Roseanna has given Marcello a final request: she wants to be buried next to her daughter, who died some years before. Marcello wants nothing more than to comply with her wishes, but there's a problem; the town's cemetery is quite small, and right now funeral plots are on a first-come, first-served basis. The spot next to Roseanna's daughter does happen to be open, but she'll only get it if no one else dies first. So Marcello suddenly becomes the village's watchdog of health and safety, trying to make sure no one needlessly dies, and even shuffles around a few bodies of people who do happen to pass on. Meanwhile, Roseanna is worried about both Marcello and her sister Cecilia (Polly Walker) and would like them to marry after her death so they won't have to be alone. However, Marcello and Cecilia don't always get along very well, and besides, Cecilia is in love with Antonio (Mark Frankel), whose father has prevented the town's cemetery from expanding. For Roseanna was filmed under the title Roseanna's Grave and was briefly publicized as For the Love of Roseanna. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating:

PG-13 (adult situations/language)
Genre:

Art House & International, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Directed By:

Paul Weiland
Written By:

Saul Turteltaub
In Theaters:

Jun 18, 1997 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jun 14, 2005
Runtime:

97 minutes
Studio:

New Line Home Entertainment

Cast

Jean Reno
as Marcello

Mercedes Ruehl
as Roseanna

Polly Walker
as Cecilia

Mark Frankel
as Antonio

Trevor Peacock
as Iaccoponi

Fay Ripley
as Francesca

George Rossi
as Sgt. Baggio

Giuseppe Cederna
as Father Bramilla

Roberto Della Casa
as Rossi

Luigi Diberti
as Capestro

Renato Scarpa
as Dr. Benvenuto

Romano Ghini
as Umberto

Giovanni Pallavicino
as Enzo

Jorge Krimer
as Salvatore

Daniele Ferretti
as Nunzio

Peter Paul Muller
as Pavone

Lucia Guzzardi
as Gianna

Lidia Biondi
as Signora Aprea

Anna Mazzotti
as Claudia

Giuseppe Papalia
as Dino

Luis C. Garcia
as Pasquale

Mario Donatone
as Old Guard

Peter Gunn
as Cop

Pietro Bontempo
as Cop

Alfredo Varelli
as Shoe Shop Owner

Gisella Mathews
as Sister

Franco Odoardi
as Patient

Julia Hine
as Secretary

Lucianna De Falco
as Gigi

Stefania Stella
as Hooker

Francesco Gabriele
as Magistrate

Zita Perczel
as Old Woman in Court

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Critic Reviews for For Roseanna

All Critics (8) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (3) | Rotten (5)

The gears of the plot are occasionally visible as they turn. But it's a small, sweet film that never tries for more than it's sure of, and the actors find it such a relief to be playing such goodhearted characters that we can almost feel it.

Jan 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic