Roma (2018)
There are not enough words in the entire English dictionary to fully describe Roma, no matter what I say I can never do this movie justice. This is a film that fully transcends beyond the screen and transports you to the world that Cleo inhabits. This is the only movie I've ever seen to fully do this to me. This is the only movie, as of now, that is above Inception, and if you know me this is extremely high praise for a film. There is no way to describe Roma's plot, rather it's a beautiful look into Cleo's life as a domestic worker in a civil unrested Mexico.
Roma is beautiful. The choice of black and white works perfectly as it indicates a memory, while the digital transfixes us in the present resulting in a truly timeless effect. To reemphasize, each shot is amazing, with camerawork that rarely cuts, rather panning to reveal perfect choreography and acting. Yet the movie isn't overly stylish or cinematic, rather it stays grounded in a realistic tone as if to say that life is inherently beautiful. To say Yalitza Aparicio's performance as Cleo is good is severely understated, her performance is the best I've ever seen. A performance that isn't a performance but so visceral and raw that I can't even say that it's acting. And to think that Aparicio was a school teacher who had never before acted is truly mindblowing. To add to the immersion, there's no music. Instead, the viewer focuses on the ambient noise of the environment, like a dog barking, or the rain.
I've heard people complain about Roma, claiming it's too slow or just about maid cleaning up for two hours which quite frankly is horseshit. Yes, I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but those who complain about why we should care about Cleo are missing the point. To be fair, this is not a movie for everyone but to say that it's bad purely because it lacks fast cuts is ridiculous. Most people are accustomed to extremely fast editing which is perfectly fine, Roma cuts only when a scene ends working almost entirely in real-time. I'll admit, when I started Roma I found it dull. I didn't care to see the floor being cleaned, but within 10 minutes I saw who Cleo really is and this beautiful underlying sensitivity that orchestrates every scene in this movie. Every scene is painstakingly beautiful and extremely personal. Not only do we feel like we know Cleo, we know her environment, unrested Mexico on the brink of a civil war. Scenes like the delivery scene or the final ocean scene are tenser than any thriller or action movie I've ever seen, because the stakes, like in life, are real. Like our own lives, there are moments that are truly terrifying, but life is also very boring. We have jobs to do, day in and day out. Roma reminds us, even in it's most boring scenes, that life is beautiful with the camera transfixed on the floor as water spreads across.
I've also heard people complain of a lack of a solid cause & effect plot; if I've learned one thing through watching countless movies is that films don't always need a plot. The need for plot rests entirely on the movie and whether it requires it. That's not to say a movie shouldn't have a purpose but plot and purpose are two different things. Roma has a purpose, but that purpose is up to the viewer. For me, it is exactly what cinema should be, the art of empathy, and the ability for the viewer to understand and see life in a way not possible in our reality. A movie should absorb you in its world to the point where it's not make-believe but rather just a different reality. Roma is a movie about life, life's ups, and downs. We see all of that with Cleo, her joy, and her pain. But it's not just Cleo who we come to empathize with, but the people that surround her as well. Sofia, Cleo's employer, is just as fantastic. With her divorce, we see life through her eyes as well, her inner turmoil, and her strength despite such pain.
Alfonso Cuarón wrote and directed this movie based on his own life. Cleo was a real person just under a different name. Sofia is his mother. You would think that a movie focused on femininity would be poorly managed by a man. Yet Cuarón portrays his "characters" with such love yet without rose-tinted shades. Roma's characterization of its characters is extremely subtle yet impeccable, like when Sofia's cheating husband takes his stuff he leaves the books but takes the bookcases, or when everyone is unable to close their eyes and balance in the martial art scene, Cleo is able to perfectly still, reflecting her inner strength and balance. This isn't a movie about him but the people he loves and cares about. We see this compassion so cleary in Roma's cinematography and its painstaking detail. From the props to the set pieces, to the wardrobe, everything serves to entrance us. To say Roma is a movie about femininity in a bygone era (as I've read in a couple of reviews), is right and wrong. Yes, its focus is on the female struggle yet some of their struggles are ones all humans undergo, the struggle of love, children, and status. Roma is a movie about life.
Roma isn't a movie, Roma isn't a documentary, Roma is the beauty and suffering that inhabit each and every one of our lives: the joy, and pain of living.
Roma is beautiful. The choice of black and white works perfectly as it indicates a memory, while the digital transfixes us in the present resulting in a truly timeless effect. To reemphasize, each shot is amazing, with camerawork that rarely cuts, rather panning to reveal perfect choreography and acting. Yet the movie isn't overly stylish or cinematic, rather it stays grounded in a realistic tone as if to say that life is inherently beautiful. To say Yalitza Aparicio's performance as Cleo is good is severely understated, her performance is the best I've ever seen. A performance that isn't a performance but so visceral and raw that I can't even say that it's acting. And to think that Aparicio was a school teacher who had never before acted is truly mindblowing. To add to the immersion, there's no music. Instead, the viewer focuses on the ambient noise of the environment, like a dog barking, or the rain.
I've heard people complain about Roma, claiming it's too slow or just about maid cleaning up for two hours which quite frankly is horseshit. Yes, I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but those who complain about why we should care about Cleo are missing the point. To be fair, this is not a movie for everyone but to say that it's bad purely because it lacks fast cuts is ridiculous. Most people are accustomed to extremely fast editing which is perfectly fine, Roma cuts only when a scene ends working almost entirely in real-time. I'll admit, when I started Roma I found it dull. I didn't care to see the floor being cleaned, but within 10 minutes I saw who Cleo really is and this beautiful underlying sensitivity that orchestrates every scene in this movie. Every scene is painstakingly beautiful and extremely personal. Not only do we feel like we know Cleo, we know her environment, unrested Mexico on the brink of a civil war. Scenes like the delivery scene or the final ocean scene are tenser than any thriller or action movie I've ever seen, because the stakes, like in life, are real. Like our own lives, there are moments that are truly terrifying, but life is also very boring. We have jobs to do, day in and day out. Roma reminds us, even in it's most boring scenes, that life is beautiful with the camera transfixed on the floor as water spreads across.
I've also heard people complain of a lack of a solid cause & effect plot; if I've learned one thing through watching countless movies is that films don't always need a plot. The need for plot rests entirely on the movie and whether it requires it. That's not to say a movie shouldn't have a purpose but plot and purpose are two different things. Roma has a purpose, but that purpose is up to the viewer. For me, it is exactly what cinema should be, the art of empathy, and the ability for the viewer to understand and see life in a way not possible in our reality. A movie should absorb you in its world to the point where it's not make-believe but rather just a different reality. Roma is a movie about life, life's ups, and downs. We see all of that with Cleo, her joy, and her pain. But it's not just Cleo who we come to empathize with, but the people that surround her as well. Sofia, Cleo's employer, is just as fantastic. With her divorce, we see life through her eyes as well, her inner turmoil, and her strength despite such pain.
Alfonso Cuarón wrote and directed this movie based on his own life. Cleo was a real person just under a different name. Sofia is his mother. You would think that a movie focused on femininity would be poorly managed by a man. Yet Cuarón portrays his "characters" with such love yet without rose-tinted shades. Roma's characterization of its characters is extremely subtle yet impeccable, like when Sofia's cheating husband takes his stuff he leaves the books but takes the bookcases, or when everyone is unable to close their eyes and balance in the martial art scene, Cleo is able to perfectly still, reflecting her inner strength and balance. This isn't a movie about him but the people he loves and cares about. We see this compassion so cleary in Roma's cinematography and its painstaking detail. From the props to the set pieces, to the wardrobe, everything serves to entrance us. To say Roma is a movie about femininity in a bygone era (as I've read in a couple of reviews), is right and wrong. Yes, its focus is on the female struggle yet some of their struggles are ones all humans undergo, the struggle of love, children, and status. Roma is a movie about life.
Roma isn't a movie, Roma isn't a documentary, Roma is the beauty and suffering that inhabit each and every one of our lives: the joy, and pain of living.
- GL
10 / 10
(Above) My favorite shot:
(Below) Runners-up:
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