Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and her favorite, an Algerian lad whom she raises as a Muslim. He asks about his parents; she answers evasively. As she ages and takes fewer children, Momo must do more for her; as money is tight, he tries to earn pennies on the street with a puppet. He's a beautiful man-child, and Madame Rosa makes him promise never to sell himself or become a pimp. A film editor, Nadine, befriends him, and his father appears as well. Madame Rosa reaches her last days in fear of hospitals, and Momo must act.
Simone Signoret
as Madame Rosa
Michal Bat-Adam
as Nadine
Gabriel Jabbour
as M. Hamil
Mohamed Zinet
as Kadir Youssef
Costa-Gavras
as Le docteur Ramon
Nadia Samir
as
Samy Ben-Youb
as Momo
Bernard Lajarrige
as Louis Charmette - un retraité SNCF
Geneviève Fontanel
as Maryse
Renata Flores
as
Elisabeth Margoni
as
Claude Dauphin
as Le docteur Katz
