It’s taken me some time to get around to watching 2019’s awards darling Roma because I wanted to be in the right mindset for it, and I’m glad I waited.
Roma tells the story of Cleo, a maid who works for a middle class family in 1970’s Mexico City. It shows how she is an integral part of the family’s everyday life, and how she helps them cope with various significant events that take place during her pregnancy. Alfonso Cuaron is one of my favourite directors for a reason, he is the master of the long take. Many filmmakers try, and fail, to do long takes well, I mean just look at my review of The Irishman for my thoughts on Scorcese trying it. But Cuaron’s shots are so beautiful and often tell more than they actually show as a result. Roma, for a film that is neither tragic nor uplifting, has many moments that left me extremely saddened simply because the world is a cruel place and cruel things happen in it to good people. There’s a particularly upsetting scene towards the end of the film that will stay with me for quite some time, and it’s something that happens everyday to thousands of women, yet it’s handled in a way that is extremely sensitive to the matter at hand yet outlines the cruelty of an act of nature.
Roma is definitely not a film for everyone, many will be turned off initially by the fact that it’s a foreign film and entirely subtitled, others will be put off because the film is black and white. But for those that do decide to check it out, you’re in for a real treat. There’s no defining story as such, but we as viewers are treated to a glimpse into the life of another ordinary person living another ordinary life in a way that allows us to reflect on our own experiences and relationships.
Roma tells the story of Cleo, a maid who works for a middle class family in 1970’s Mexico City. It shows how she is an integral part of the family’s everyday life, and how she helps them cope with various significant events that take place during her pregnancy. Alfonso Cuaron is one of my favourite directors for a reason, he is the master of the long take. Many filmmakers try, and fail, to do long takes well, I mean just look at my review of The Irishman for my thoughts on Scorcese trying it. But Cuaron’s shots are so beautiful and often tell more than they actually show as a result. Roma, for a film that is neither tragic nor uplifting, has many moments that left me extremely saddened simply because the world is a cruel place and cruel things happen in it to good people. There’s a particularly upsetting scene towards the end of the film that will stay with me for quite some time, and it’s something that happens everyday to thousands of women, yet it’s handled in a way that is extremely sensitive to the matter at hand yet outlines the cruelty of an act of nature.
Roma is definitely not a film for everyone, many will be turned off initially by the fact that it’s a foreign film and entirely subtitled, others will be put off because the film is black and white. But for those that do decide to check it out, you’re in for a real treat. There’s no defining story as such, but we as viewers are treated to a glimpse into the life of another ordinary person living another ordinary life in a way that allows us to reflect on our own experiences and relationships.