| Director | Sally Potter |
|---|---|
| Box office | $1.7 million |
In 1945, best friends Nat and Anoushka give birth, as they hold hands, to two girls named Ginger and Rosa, respectively. Ginger and Rosa grow to become best friends and by 1962, the two are inseparable. Ginger is a compassionate girl with a desire to help the world and Rosa is a passionate young girl with a wild and an almost ungovernable personality. After hearing about the Cuban Missile Crisis on the radio, Ginger becomes interested in the anti-nuclear movement. She expresses her concerns about the dangers of nuclear devastation to Rosa, who attempts to comfort her by taking her to church. Ginger finds validation for her ideas through a group of older activists: Mark 1, Mark 2, and Bella.
An argument over dinner appears to be the catalyst for Nat and her husband Roland to separate. Soon after, Ginger discovers her mother Nat has been asking the school to have more "domestic science" courses so that Ginger is more "prepared for life" than she had been. When Ginger discovers this, she is outraged and tells her mother that she will never have children. Ginger moves out and begins to live with Roland. But he has started a relationship with Rosa, which deeply disturbs Ginger, especially after Rosa tells her that she thinks she is pregnant. Ginger is devastated and runs off to a protest rally, where she is arrested.
After being questioned by a psychiatrist and returning home, Ginger expresses her anxious concerns about the end of the world. Her anxiety is really about her father and Rosa's affair, which she tells her mother. Rosa and her mother arrive. After seeing Rosa clutch her stomach, Nat realizes Rosa is pregnant and runs upstairs, horrified.
Ginger and Mark 1 quickly follow her, but find she locked her door. They call Roland, who breaks the door in, and they find that Nat has overdosed. They rush her to the hospital, and Rosa pleads with Ginger to forgive her.
As Roland and Ginger wait at the hospital, Ginger writes a letter to Rosa, in the form of a poem. In it, she discusses their friendship and differing outlooks, pointing out that Rosa dreams of "everlasting love", while Ginger "loves this world". The poem ends on a hopeful note: Ginger tells Rosa that if everything works out, there will be nothing to forgive, but she'll forgive her anyway. Roland apologises to Ginger, but she turns away and continues to write.