Roma (2018)

A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.

Director:

Alfonso Cuarón

Writer:

Alfonso Cuarón

Stars:

Yalitza Aparicio, Marina de Tavira, Diego Cortina Autrey

Won 3 Oscars. Another 243 wins & 211 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Yalitza Aparicio	...	Cleo
Marina de Tavira	...	Sra. Sofía
Diego Cortina Autrey	...	Toño
Carlos Peralta	...	Paco
Marco Graf	...	Pepe
Daniela Demesa	...	Sofi
Nancy García García	...	Adela
Verónica García	...	Sra. Teresa
Andy Cortés	...	Ignacio
Fernando Grediaga	...	Sr. Antonio
Jorge Antonio Guerrero	...	Fermín
José Manuel Guerrero Mendoza	...	Ramón
Latin Lover	...	Profesor Zovek
Zarela Lizbeth Chinolla Arellano	...	Dra. Velez
José Luis López Gómez	...	Pediatra

Storyline

Cleo is one of two domestic workers who help Antonio and Sofía take care of their four children in 1970s Mexico City. Complications soon arise when Antonio suddenly runs away with his mistress and Cleo finds out that she's pregnant. When Sofía decides to take the kids on vacation, she invites Cleo for a much-needed getaway to clear her mind and bond with the family.

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Plot Keywords:

maid | nanny | mexico city | class differences | 1970s | 

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Taglines:

There are periods in history that scar societies and moments in life that transform us as individuals.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

M/14

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Alfonso Cuarón, ninety percent of the scenes represented in the film are scenes taken out of his memory.

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Goofs

On the scene previous to the attack on the students, the camera travels along several military vehicles, many of them bearing a very contemporary FORD logo on the radiator screen. then slows to show a VW Safari from the right era.

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Quotes

Pepe: Mom, Daddy stepped on dog poo!

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Crazy Credits

The closing credits end with "Shantih Shantih Shantih," the conclusion to every mantra in the Upanishads, a collection of 108 Hindu scriptures. "Shantih" was referenced several times in Alfonso Cuarón's earlier film, Os Filhos do Homem (2006).

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Best Movies of 2018 (2018)

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Soundtracks

Mar y espuma
Written by Rafael Cortez
Performed by Conjunto Acapulco Tropical (as Acapulco Tropical)
Published by Universal Music Publishing Group
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment Mexico, S.A. de C.V.

User Reviews

In the best of the decade

Alfonso Cuarón might be my favourite living director, jesus that was brilliant. Where to begin with this masterpiece...

Well - to start - 'Roma' is one of the most beautiful films of the decade, every shot is masterfully executed, blocked, framed, and detailed. Cuarón himself was the cinematographer in this project, and he did a phenomenal job. You can't help but have your jaw on the floor the entire runtime. Right from the opening shot I knew I was in for something masterful. Cuarón's signature long takes were ever prevelant here, and each was as masterful as the last. Sometimes he lingers on a subject beautifully to exentuate a point, or makes a small adjustment to a shot - giving it a completely different meaning. The symmetry and pure brilliance of every single scene sends chills down your spine. I won't spoil it, but there's a particular shot near the middle of the film involving a man singing, where Caurón plays with the contrast between background and foreground so powerfully it got even got a few tears rolling.

Cuarón's visual motifs find their way across the film, tying the somewhat loose plot into a resounding and heart wrenching force. Again - no spoilers - but he uses planes, water, cars, dogs, and themes of birth and death to represent metaphorically or sometimes literally how characters feel and how their relationships to eachother are.

The lead performance from Yalitza Aparicio was great, especially considering this is the first film she's ever acted in. Hats off to the casting director for plucking her out of obscurity and having her end up delivering such a resounding performance. I really hope this movie will jump start a career for her.

This film is a grandmaster at the top of his game, and is breathtaking perfection from start to finish. Alfonso Cuarón returns to his Spanish roots for a passion project he's been talking about since 2006. He excercises almost total creative control by wearing a lot of hats on the production. He directed, co-produced, wrote, edited, and photographed this film. A complete 180 from his last three studio works (although some of them are masterpieces), ROMA exercises more storytelling prowess than them, and no one will be calling this film 'style over substance' no matter how beautiful it is.

'Roma' is another Cuarón masterpiece, and I'm happy that it will be seen to a vastly larger audience because of the Netflix distribution. However, that is also a double edged sword - because this is a film that is best seen on the big screen, but I'm still pleased more people will be exposed to this masterclass in filmmaking. I urge you to watch this the second you have the chance, because Cuarón has made one of the best films of the decade.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Mexico USA

Language:

Spanish Mixtec English Japanese German French Norwegian

Release Date:

13 December 2018 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Roma

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,140,769

Company Credits

Production Co:

Esperanto Filmoj, Pimienta Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos DTS (DTS: X) (mainland China theatrical release)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1