Alfonso Cuaron has directed not only my favourite Harry Potter film in The Prisoner of Azkaban, he also directed one of my all times favourites in Children of Men. Suffice to say his new film and apparent most personal film to date had me very excited. The fact that it was being released on Netflix upset me quite a bit as it looked to beautiful to see on a small screen. Luckily I had the chance to see it on not only a big theatre screen, but projected in gorgeous 70mm. I am happy to say that in a year that up to this point had no films I was comfortable giving my highest regards to, Roma is an absolute masterpiece and the best film of the year hands down.
Roma follows a few months in the life of a 1970s housekeeper in Mexico named Cleo. The highs and lows of both Cleo and the family she works for are eloquently portrayed by Cuaron and a bevy of strong actors.
At the forefront of the cast playing Cleo is Yalitza Aparicio. If you haven't heard of her that is probably because she isn't an actor, and even after this film doesn't consider herself one. I doubt I'll ever see a non-actor give a performance like this, because Aparicio is magnetic in the film. She brings to life some of the deepest emotions I've seen this year, and does so with not a ton of dialogue. She plays a quiet character and only speaks Spanish, yet I clung to every line and gesture she delivered and that is all thanks to her work. The mother of the family Cleo works for is played by Marina de Tavira, and she also gives a great performance. Her character goes through a lot and she delivers a lot of conflicted emotional moments. She portrays the balance of struggle and need to be strong for her family brilliantly. Those are the two standout performances but I want to mention all the four kids in the film as well, as they are very important to the story and all do solid work. They are played by Carlos Peralita, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, and Diego Cortina Autrey. I'd love to give shoutouts to everyone that was good in this film but there was really no weak acting.
While the acting was very strong all around, Cuaron is the true star of this film. Even though the script is in another language, it is very clearly strong. The emotional moments are earned and hit hard, and the bright moments offer a nice break while also building the story. This is a slice of life style film, and with these I often worry that it won't feel like the film is building to anything, long portions of the film will drag, and that the filmmaker will struggle with figuring out how to end the story. None of those worries happened in Roma. My eyes hurt a bit from how intently I was watching from start to finish, and the film builds to what I consider a very satisfying conclusion. Cuaron is a frequent collaborator with legendary cinematographer Emanuel Lubezki, but this time he did his own camerawork and wow is it ever good. The use of deep space and focus is truly mesmerizing, and the subtle camera movements throughout are fantastic. This is one of those films where you could take any random shot and hang it up as art, as Cuaron even manages to make something simple like water splashing on the floor into a beautiful image. Cuaron uses many long takes which I love, and he kind of needs them because of how meticulously detailed the entire film is.
I love legitimately everything about this film. When it ended most of the people in my theatre sat silent for several minutes, not even looking at their phones. This is a work of art and a masterpiece, and it's on Netflix so there is no reason not to watch it.
Rating: 5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
Roma follows a few months in the life of a 1970s housekeeper in Mexico named Cleo. The highs and lows of both Cleo and the family she works for are eloquently portrayed by Cuaron and a bevy of strong actors.
At the forefront of the cast playing Cleo is Yalitza Aparicio. If you haven't heard of her that is probably because she isn't an actor, and even after this film doesn't consider herself one. I doubt I'll ever see a non-actor give a performance like this, because Aparicio is magnetic in the film. She brings to life some of the deepest emotions I've seen this year, and does so with not a ton of dialogue. She plays a quiet character and only speaks Spanish, yet I clung to every line and gesture she delivered and that is all thanks to her work. The mother of the family Cleo works for is played by Marina de Tavira, and she also gives a great performance. Her character goes through a lot and she delivers a lot of conflicted emotional moments. She portrays the balance of struggle and need to be strong for her family brilliantly. Those are the two standout performances but I want to mention all the four kids in the film as well, as they are very important to the story and all do solid work. They are played by Carlos Peralita, Marco Graf, Daniela Demesa, and Diego Cortina Autrey. I'd love to give shoutouts to everyone that was good in this film but there was really no weak acting.
While the acting was very strong all around, Cuaron is the true star of this film. Even though the script is in another language, it is very clearly strong. The emotional moments are earned and hit hard, and the bright moments offer a nice break while also building the story. This is a slice of life style film, and with these I often worry that it won't feel like the film is building to anything, long portions of the film will drag, and that the filmmaker will struggle with figuring out how to end the story. None of those worries happened in Roma. My eyes hurt a bit from how intently I was watching from start to finish, and the film builds to what I consider a very satisfying conclusion. Cuaron is a frequent collaborator with legendary cinematographer Emanuel Lubezki, but this time he did his own camerawork and wow is it ever good. The use of deep space and focus is truly mesmerizing, and the subtle camera movements throughout are fantastic. This is one of those films where you could take any random shot and hang it up as art, as Cuaron even manages to make something simple like water splashing on the floor into a beautiful image. Cuaron uses many long takes which I love, and he kind of needs them because of how meticulously detailed the entire film is.
I love legitimately everything about this film. When it ended most of the people in my theatre sat silent for several minutes, not even looking at their phones. This is a work of art and a masterpiece, and it's on Netflix so there is no reason not to watch it.
Rating: 5/5
Written by Matt McKenzie
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