This is a gentle film about Ulrik, a father, played by the wonderful Jens Albinus, longing for love after the death of his wife. Like many in his small village in Denmark’s Jutland he goes for an arranged marriage with Rosita, a much younger woman from the Phillipines, played well by Mercedes Cabral. Ulrik has two sons and the younger, Johannes (Mikkel Boe Følsgaard) still lives with him at home. Johannes is a bit of a local lad, a fisherman and has a girlfriend who clearly loves him a great deal.

Rosita is ultimately a film about whether we accept the cards we are dealt in life or make some difficult choices and it is also a film about hope and love. Johannes certainly isn’t happy with his lot and when Rosita comes along he soon thinks he has found the love of his life and wants to escape with her. Ulrik, however, is having none of this and the older lion still has the smarts to run his pack.

Johannes has to decide what he really wants and whether this choice will include the burning of some bridges to his family. A few words from his father right at the end of the film soon sort that out and I am reminded of the words of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards:

Oh, you can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need

My Bruce McAvaney Specialness Rating*: 3+/5 (Somewhat special.)