Ginger and Rosa parents guide

Ginger and Rosa Parent Guide

A friendship is tested.

Overall C

Best friends Ginger and Rosa (Elle Fanning and Alice Englert) can't imagine anything ever coming between them. But that's because they haven't considered the various ways each may react to the powerful family and societal forces that surround them, including The Cold War, The Cubin Missile Crisis and The Sexual Revolution.

Release date March 15, 2013

Violence B-
Sexual Content D+
Profanity D
Substance Use C-

Why is Ginger and Rosa rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Ginger and Rosa PG-13 for mature disturbing thematic material involving teen choices - sexuality, drinking, smoking, and for language.

Run Time: 90 minutes

Official Movie Site

Parent Movie Review

Life in London during the 1960s is a dark and troubled time for Ginger (Elle Fanning) and her best friend Rosa (Alice Englert). The radio buzzes with threats of a nuclear holocaust and the ensuing end of the world. Afraid that every day may be her last, Ginger, an aspiring poet, becomes obsessed with banning the bomb, marching in protest rallies and joining a youth group opposed to war.

But the world scene isn’t the only thing teetering on the brink of destruction in this challenging movie. At home, war of a different kind wages and her family implodes. Her father Roland (Alessandro Nivola), a freethinking writer with thin morals, shamelessly spends time with his young and beautiful students. He scoffs at religion, belittles his daughter’s curiosity about God, and prods her to embrace his attitude that detests any sort of moral obligation, familial responsibility or social accountability. As Ginger’s mother Natalie (Christina Hendricks) bemoans her role as wife, mother and homemaker, the married couple’s arguments and palpable disdain for one another escalate and cloud every family interaction.

Meanwhile Ginger and Rosa distance themselves from their homes, wandering the dark streets of London into the wee hours of the morning, smoking, drinking and in Rosa’s case, engaging in sex on a dirty city sidewalk.

Ginger and Rosa is a difficult film to watch on many levels. From the opening scenes, a sense of foreboding permeates the script particularly when Roland lustily peers at Rosa in the car’s rearview mirror. After being abandoned by her father, Rosa seeks male acceptance and love in any form she can get it—even if it means becoming a mere sexual object. Mature themes of infidelity, child sexual abuse and teen substance abuse are also prevalent in the script along with two strong sexual expletives and a smattering of profanities. Equally unsettling is watching the naïve and gentle Ginger face problems and worries unfitting for her tender years.

With no anchor at home, Ginger’s only emotional caregivers come in the form of her godfathers, Mark One and Mark Two (Timothy Spall, Oliver Platt) and their radical friend May Bella (Annette Bening). But even their attention is only a substitute for the family affection she wants in a world spiraling out of control.

While the theme and content of this film, written and directed by Sally Potter, makes this movie appropriate for only the oldest of teens, this well-made production offers strong performances by its young cast members, Fanning and Englert, who both bring a sense of pathos and disquiet to their characters.

And like Charles Dickens’ English character, Mrs. Jellyby, who is more interested in saving the children of Africa than caring for her own family, Ginger’s mom and dad forsake their parental responsibilities in favor of their own pains and passions. But leaving their daughter to fare for herself in a world that is spiraling out of control globally and personally comes at a high cost to the young girl whose innocence and childhood are lost far too soon.

Directed by Sally Potter. Starring Elle Fanning, Alice Englert, Annette Bening. Running time: 90 minutes. Theatrical release March 15, 2013. Updated

Ginger and Rosa
Rating & Content Info

Why is Ginger and Rosa rated PG-13? Ginger and Rosa is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for mature disturbing thematic material involving teen choices - sexuality, drinking, smoking, and for language.

Violence: The threat of a nuclear holocaust is frequently discussed along with some brief archival footage of the bomb in Hiroshima. This threat becomes a source of anxiety for a young teen. Protestors riot in the street and police move in to break up the protest. Some participants, including a young teen, are jailed. A married couple’s arguments sometimes include physical blows. Teens talk back to their parents. A mother slaps her daughter’s face. A character attempts suicide.

Sexual Content: A brief scene shows two women in the process of giving birth. Teens make out in an alley and one couple has sex on the sidewalk. A man walks in on his daughter and her friend who are wearing only their pants and bras. Girls are seen in their bras in several scenes. A man looks lustily at his daughter’s young friend. The sounds of sexual activity between an adult and teen are heard. A teen becomes pregnant.

Language: The script includes two strong sexual expletives, infrequent profanities and numerous terms of Deity. Name-calling includes sexually derogatory terms.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Teens and other characters smoke and drink on numerous occasions. A young girl throws up after drinking. A young adult male buys beer for a teen girl. A woman overdoses on pills.

Other: Teen girls hitchhike on several occasions.

Page last updated

Ginger and Rosa Parents' Guide

Ginger’s innocence is set side by side against her sense of responsibility for saving the entire world. How is her naivety and youth portrayed? What events contribute to her loss of innocence? Which characters worry about global issues and which are more concerned with personal matters? Is anybody actively trying to solve the problems at home? What responsibility, if any, do parents have to help protect their offspring’s childhood?

Roland espouses the idea of autonomous thought and conscientious objection. How does he use that as an excuse to avoid all responsibility in his marriage, his role as a father, his social behavior and his sexual conquests? Do you agree with his comment about surrendering to the siren call of true love or does it sound like another excuse for his bad behavior? How long do you think his relationships with his young lovers will last?

Why do Mark and Mark encourage Ginger to be a girl for a little while longer instead of worrying about adult problems? Does her home situation allow her to do that? What role do her godfathers play in her life?

Learn more about the societal pressures of the early 1960 here:

The Cold War

The Cuban Missile Crisis

The Sexual Revolution

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Ginger and Rosa movie is July 23, 2013. Here are some details…

Ginger and Rosa releases to home video on July 23, 2013.

Related home video titles:

Set in a different time period, The Perks of Being a Wallflower also looks at the challenges of being a teen. Thirteen Days is a political drama chronicling American’s involvement in the Cuban Missile Crisis.