“Love is nothing more than a deceptive Fata Morgana,” drolly opines cynical gay novelist Lorenz at the start of the gently humorous Rosie. This jaded one-night-stand habitué is soon to learn that genuine emotional connection need not remain elusive, and that matters of the heart are far more unpredictable than his increasingly fatalistic books. Returning home to provincial Switzerland from his literary life in Berlin, Lorenz, joined by his equally conflicted sister, must contend with their ailing mother, the titular irrepressible matriarch who's not about to let a minor stroke stop her from enjoying a midafternoon cigarette or that third glass of wine. Rosie (the scene-stealing Sibylle Brunner) is an earthy life force, fueled by alcohol and fierce independence, who enjoys meddling in her son's bumbling affair-his back goes out during a sexy tryst-with Mario, an adoring reader some twenty years younger than the author. As Rosie's health declines, Lorenz and his sister face difficult decisions regarding her care and also uncover a family skeleton or two. Enlivened by appealing performances, gorgeous shots of the majestic Alps, and snippets of classical music, Marcel Gisler's crowd-pleaser-nominated this year for six Swiss Film Awards-deftly disentangles the familial and romantic ties that bind.