“Roma” is the film of the year and a poetic slice of realism told in black and white from the point of view of a housekeeping nanny working for an upper class family in Mexico City during the 1970s.
Yalitza Aparicio plays the soft spoken Cleo who loves the children as if they were her own. She is a protector who practices the gift of nurturing young lives and minds in the middle of a chaotic city about to burst with chaos and protests. It’s a remarkable Oscar-worthy performance by a non-actress in her first cinematic role.
“Roma” is also about cultural bigotry toward those who have less or nothing at all. A condescending system of employment where millions of families depend on the hard work of others but are also the first to pour on the blame when things are not perfect or as instructed. From the bottom up, it’s the value of a life-saving job where room and board is to be protected at all costs and not to be taken lightly.
Oscar winning director Alfonso Cuaron (“Gravity,” “Children Of Men,” “Y Tu Mama Tambien”) has created an elaborate memory poem from his personal childhood, paying tribute to the nanny that raised him and the mother that survived a divorce with children. Girl power is on full display in “Roma” and every frame seems dedicated to showing life as it really is rather than romanticizing or embellishing.
By the end of this powerful film the mother, played with an Oscar caliber performance by Marina de Tavira, shares more similarities with Cleo than differences. The ending is so beautiful and moving it takes your breath away.
“Roma” is rated R for showing and telling the disturbing truth about the human experience including the tragic delivery of an infant, a violent, bloody student protest and a shocking sex scene of innocence and dominance. It’s magnificently filmed from every angle without judgement with director Cuaron also serving as cinematographer, and yes, he will win the Oscar for his work behind the camera.
Finally, “Roma” will take you out of your comfort zone by being exactly what it inspires to be, a film about life and all it’s sad, wonderful complexities. Subtle, beautiful, patient, haunting, ugly, gut wrenching, meaningful, terrifying, romantic and one of the most accurate descriptions of life on this planet ever portrayed on film.
“Roma” is a masterwork.