Every so often a glorious film comes along that completely reinvigorates my love of cinema. In 2017 it was Phantom Thread. In 2018 it was films like The Favourite and Eighth Grade. Now, you can add Roma to that list.
Director Alfonso Cuarón returns for his eighth feature film, set almost entirely in Mexico City in the early ’70s. The acclaimed director also wrote the screenplay, and produced, edited and shot the film. In short, Roma is Cuarón’s baby, and it is undoubtedly his best work yet, which is high praise given that his previous film, Gravity, was my number-one film of 2013. The film has a simple, intimate, yet emotionally powerful story surrounding the housekeeper Cleo (played by first-time actress and star-in-the-making Yalitza Aparicio) and her relationship to the family she cares for as her life unfolds over the course of a year. That’s it. This one is a far cry from the technical achievement that was Cuarón’s previous film, and yet this film feels every bit as epic as Gravity did.
The entire cast, outside of Sofía (Marina de Tavira) are first-time actors. Cleo is the center of the story, and Aparicio’s intimate, human, genuine portrayal of this character is one of the best of the year. She displays an immense range of emotions, and the genuineness of these emotions were increased thanks to the bold decision of Cuarón to hold back key plot details from the actress until actually filming the scenes (including the unforgettable emotional climax of the film).
Cuarón was very secretive about the script. The entire film was shot sequentially (fairly unusual in filmmaking) with the director often not even giving the actors the script for an individual scene until the day that scene was to be shot. It’s mesmerizing to see this cast have as much chemistry with each other as they do with such an incredible level of authenticity.
But the calling card, of course, is the sheer scale of Cuarón’s vision. This film is a triumphant family epic if there ever was one. The production design, sound editing, sound mixing and cinematography are all the best I saw and heard in 2018. Cuarón captures so many nuanced details in every frame: so many extras, creatures and natural occurrences unfold in his dizzying array of grand (and I mean grand) one-shots it will take your breath away.
It’s all held together by some of the most amazing cinematography I’ve ever seen. Cuarón certainly made Chivo (the nickname of Gravity and Children of Men cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki) proud with the stunning 65mm black and white aesthetic of the film. The camera is always calm but confident, with a lot of slow, poignant pans from side to side. With the two best-looking films of 2018 almost certainly being Roma and Pawel Pawlikowksi’s Cold War, also shot in black and white, I think the great film critic Roger Ebert may have been right when he said that color handicaps film. (That’s from a great article he once wrote, by the way.)
The sound is another reason why you need to see this on a big screen. You are immersed with the sounds of Mexico City with a mesmeric attention to detail taken by Skip Lievsay, Cuarón and company. From shopkeepers to Mariachi bands to something as nuanced as food being made behind you (because the camera is facing the bar and the food is behind the viewer), there is never a moment missed within the sound mixing.
This film is a masterpiece, beautiful in both its emotional intimacy and grandiose scale. It’ll capture you within the first few moments and not let you go until the final plane soars overhead. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and do everything in between. Roma is a wonderful reminder of why I am hopelessly in love with the world of cinema, and is an absolute must-see for all.
It’s also a wonderful foray into the world of foreign film: if you’ve always been intimidated at the idea of having to read the dialogue unfolding in front of you, (I know I was for a long time) this is a fantastic place to start. Make tonight a movie night and catch Roma on Netflix now.
