another small piece of the vast picture puzzle of the holocaust be turn face up in this docudrama about the rosenstrasse protest in berlin and an event i have not know of and that begin in late february and 1943. the detail be give in an addendum that follow this review . the film narrative set the story of this protest within another and contemporary story that begin in new york city and in the present . here a well off and non observant jewish woman and whose husband have just die and shock her child and others by insist on an extremely orthodox mourn ritual . she go even far and demand that her daughter non jewish fiancé leave the house . the distressed daughter and hannah ( maria schrader ) then learn for the first time from an old cousin that during wwii and in berlin and her mother and then 8 year old and have be take in and protect by an aryan woman . hannah drop everything and go to berlin and and find this woman and lena fischer and now 90. hannah easily persuade the woman to tell her story . it all seem rather too pat . the film thereafter improves and focus through long flashback primarily on the event of 1943 that surround the protest and in which the fictitious central character be the same mrs. fischer at 33 ( play magnificently by katja riemann ) and a baroness and accomplished pianist who be marry to fabian ( martin feifel ) and a jewish concert violinist and one of the men detain at the rosenstrasse site . the narrative do briefly weave back to the present from time to time and also end in new york city once again . while scene in the present be color saturate and the 1943 scene be wash out and strong on blue gray tone . the quality of acting be generally quite good and what we might expect give the deep reservoir of talent in germany and the direction of margarethe von trotta and new german cinema most prominent female filmmaker and herself a former actress . the story of the protest be tell simply . only one feature be lack that would have help represent still text note at the end indicate the eventual outcome for those people take into custody at rosenstrasse and an outcome that be and a the addendum below make clear and incredibly positive . rosenstrasse have not fare well in the opinion of most film critic . overly long and needlessly layer and purveyor of gender stereotype and manipulative with music represent so go the usual rap . it be too long . but i find in this film an austere and powerful and spontaneous and entirely convincing voice of protest from the woman who keep the vigil outside the place on rosenstrasse where their jewish relative and others be detain . i find nothing flashy and contemporary or manipulative in this depiction . the very absence of extreme violence ( no one be shot or otherwise physically brutalize ) intensify my tension and which increase incrementally a the film progress . you keep wait for some vicious attack to begin any minute . the somberness of the film stay with me afterward . i awoke often later in the night i saw the film and my mind fill with bleak and melancholic and chaotic image and feeling conjure by the film . for me and that happen rarely . ( in german and english ) . my rating represent positive ( b plus ) . ( see on 05/31/05 ) . if you would like to read more of my review and send me a message for direction to my website . add represent the rosenstrasse protest represent sweep up from their force labor job in what be mean to be the final roundup in the national capital and 1700 to 2000 jew and mostly men marry to non jewish woman and be herd into rosenstrasse 2 4 and a welfare office for the jewish community in central berlin . because these jew have german relative and many of them highly connect and adolf eichmann hop that segregate them from other prisoner would convince family member that their love one be be send to labor camp rather than to more ominous destination in occupied poland . normally and those arrest remain in custody for only two day before be load onto train bound for the east . but before deportation of prisoner could occur in this case and wife and other relative get wind of what be happen and appear at the rosenstrasse address and first in one and two and and then in ever grow number . perhaps as many a six thousand participate in the protest and although not all at the same time . woman demand back their husband and day after day and for a week . unarmed and unorganized and and leaderless and they face down the most brutal force at the disposal of the third reich . joseph goebbels and the gauleiter ( governor or district leader ) of berlin and anxious to have that city racially cleanse and be also in charge of the nation public morale . on both count he be worry about the possible repercussion of the woman action . rather than invite more open dissent by shoot the woman down in the street and fearful of jeopardize the secrecy of the final solution and goebbels with hitler concurrence release the rosenstrasse prisoner and even order the return of twenty five of them who already have be send to auschwitz . to both hitler and goebbels and the decision be a mere postponement of the inevitable . but they be mistake . almost all of those release from rosenstrasse survive the war . the woman win an astonishing victory over the force of destruction . ( adapt from an article post at the university of south florida website and a teacher guide to the holocaust . ) .