Roma

Director: Alfonso Cuarón

Cast: Yalitza Aparicio, Nancy Garcia, Jorge Antonio Guerreo

Year: 2018

Genre: Drama

2018 boasted many brilliant, emotional, terrific films, many of which deserve much more recognition from the Academy; however, one film that was not overlooked was Cuarón's beautiful masterpiece Roma.

Roma's protagonist is Cleo, a servant for a wealthy family in New Mexico, during the early 1970s. The family is made up of a husband and wife and four children. The parents, Antonio and Sofia, while initially a seemingly happy couple, are attempting to conceal their dysfunctional marriage, which is riddled with arguments and conflicts, from their children. Meanwhile, the four siblings  are mostly supervised by their grandmother Teresa and their two maids, that being Cleo and her close friend, Adela.

Without exploring too much more into the film's synopsis, Roma tells the story of Cleo's life between the years 1970 and 1971, both through her relationship with the family she serves, as well as her personal life, such as her relationship with Fermín, and her friendship with Adela. While at the surface there is not necessarily a solid narrative (there is a vague narrative arc which occurs across the duration of the film, which is readily referenced to, but this does not dominate the film's plot), Roma instead values an examination of Cleo and the people around her, as well as the general culture in New Mexico during the early seventies. It is a beautiful portrayal of family, love and friendship; it explores the joy and heartbreak that exists within these dynamics of life. Yet it is not a film that intends to constantly expose its audience to a flow of emotion and feeling. Instead, it avoids melodramatic sequences, often hiding an argument or a moment of sadness outside of the frame and builds up to the intense, heartbreaking moments, which makes seeing these scenes even more poignant and emotional.

What is instantly striking about Roma is its gorgeous, flawless monochromatic cinematography, photographed by Cuarón himself, and his authorial power vividly speaks through the images he portrays in his film. He takes advantage of the medium of cinema, and intends to tell a story as clearly as possible, even if it means focusing and examining minute details in seemingly inconsequential or banal moments. To reference an early example of this in the film, Cuarón visually explains to the audience how Antonio intricately and pedantically parks his car in the garage. Through a succession of quick close ups, the audience is told that he must drive in and out of the garage a number of times in order to be precise in his parking. Even though the audience are not even shown his face at this moment, we are told that he is a man who prides himself on things being done correctly and prides himself on his property (as he avoids scratching the car, despite the fact that he has only a small area to park it in). Cuarón uses sequences like this to inform character's later decisions and also adds significantly more context and weight to decisions made later in the film. It is arguably a subtle film making choice he makes here, yet it shows that Cuarón himself prides himself on the precision of his own work.

Cinematography aside, Roma boasts an impeccable cast of magnificent actors, namely amongst those being Yalitza Aparicio, who portrays Cleo. Her ability to convey emotion through her body language, even when she hosts a blank, emotionless face is fantastic. Yet her expression of emotion throughout the film feels so authentic and genuine, be that pessimistic or optimistic emotions - Aparicio fully adopts the character of Cleo and often the film feels like the camera is simply observing reality.

According to many descriptions of this film, many people claim Roma is an autobiographical film; be that as it may, there is no doubt that this film is incredibly heartfelt and digs into the core emotions of humanity. Cuarón depicts beauty in every day life, through family, through friends, and through the vibrant city of New Mexico. It is truly a marvelous film, with a central message reminding us that all around us we have people who love us, despite the fact that there are many who may not. A scene within the final act of the film which takes place on the beach beautifully exhibits this message.

Verdict: 10/10