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Review : Roma (2018)

Word about Roma has been on my radar since right around November of 2018, and all of it was good.  Children of Men was quite the experience, and Gravity has been on my watch queue for ages, but the buzz about Roma had the film climbing up the list fast.  In the wake of its wins at the Golden Globes, my sense of urgency kicked in, and I am glad that I finally took the time to enjoy this wonderful film.

Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is a caretaker for a group of young children born to doctor Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) and biochemist/professor Sofia (Marina de Tavira).  The children she cares for are the young inquisitive Pepe (Marco Graf), his older sister Sofi (Daniela Demesa), and the quarreling oldest boys Tono (Diego Cortina) and Paco (Carlos Peralta), and with the help of their grandmother Teresa (Veronica Garcia), Cleo does her best to shield them from the cold truth of their father’s extramarital affairs and absenteeism.  While hanging out with friend and coworker Adela (Nancy Garcia) and Adela’s boyfriend Ramon (Jose Manuel Guerrero), Cleo is introduced to Fermin (Jorge Antonio Guerrero), a young man with a penchant for martial arts, and a romantic fling evolves, leading to Cleo’s pregnancy.  Rather than face the truth, Fermin decides to flee, leaving Cleo to deal with a newborn baby on the way, as well as the problems growing with the family she cares for.  As Sofia does all that she can to keep herself and her family together, Cleo tries her best to keep her life together, all while both women attempt to protect themselves and their families from the madness of the political turmoil that surrounds them, as well as the sometimes cruel nature of the world itself.

One of the major set of themes in Roma is a focus on class systems and cultural values.  When it comes to the upper class, the focus is on the luxury of the entitled in the form of both material goods and the ability to afford time for things like vacations and extramarital escapades.  In the world that Antonio and Sofia inhabit, honking a horn brings the help to open your garage doors, and the help will put your kids to bed for you.  Cleo is shown genuine love by Sofia in tandem with the responsibility she is given... a deep trust to take care of Sofia’s kids.  Cleo becomes so connected to Sofia’s family that we only really ever hear of Cleo’s actual family rather than see them.  The family she cares for deals with mostly first world problems like a car too big for its garage or bickering kids mostly.  Luckily, Soifa and Antonio don’t go overboard with their extravagance, like their extended family and the collection of mounted dog heads they proudly display.

In contrast, the glimpses we get into Cleo’s life outside of the family are mostly somber and pensive, reflecting her blue collar life.  Cleo, Fermin and the rest of their peers seek pleasure in moments and shared experiences rather than objects and wealth, even if that pleasure is as drastically diverse as romance or governmental protest.  These people do have a unified quality despite their diverse motives : the fact that they must work for everything they have rather than accept everything being given too them.  The film provides layers of symbolism to display how problems mount in the lower social class world, sometimes to a seemingly unsurmountable degree, like the pregnancy reveal in the theater versus the onscreen symbolism in the movie theater, or the earthquake that takes place while Cleo is observing newborn babies.

Cleo and Sofia show that spited and scorned women can be found in all of the spectrums of life, be it the upper or lower classes.  Cleo finds herself an observer to many, many embarrassing and sad moments that she must remain silent about, be they examples of infidelity or secrets that could rock the family she cares for.  Cleo, by that rationale, finds herself in the impossible position of being unable to help either her blood family or her family that she cares for.  Cleo also finds herself so focused on these tasks she can never complete that the truths she learns about Fermin, the man who impregnated her, are devastating in contrast to the tender moments they initially shared.

In terms of production, Cuaron provides astounding cinematography via a fixed, observational camera that is ever scanning and surveying the surroundings.  The camera moves feel mechanical and unnatural in the 1970s surroundings of the film.  The stark black and white photography adds a timeless feel to the proceedings.  The period piece aspects are so well woven into the film that they are barely noticeable, and they only serve to further enrich the world and all of its texture and culture.  The pacing of the story allows moments to resonate and images to permeate, pulling the viewer deeper and deeper into the film.  Many moments and framings of scenes echo those of Federico Fellini.  One of my favorite, eye-opening aspects of the films was the reveal/callback to what we were really seeing in the opening credits, just as issues with the family really were beginning to reveal themselves.  The reference to Gravity nestled in one of the movie theater sequences made me laugh.  The constant juxtaposition of manmade and natural tragedies against peaceful moments that resonate the best parts of life really help bolster the emotional waves of this film.

Yalitza Aparicio shows a grace, dignity and compassion in the face of seemingly insurmountable issues and odds, carrying both her and the viewer through the mess Cleo lives in.  Marina de Tavira’s tragic portrayal of a mother falling apart in the face of an unfaithful husband is heartbreaking.  Fernando Grediaga’s carefree spirit and inability to show love for anyone other than himself paints him as protagonist in the face of the family.  Jorge Antonio Guerrero gives a dynamic performance as a seemingly high quality and high character man, and one with integrity in the face of political turmoil, but one that runs away from the responsibility of fatherhood.  Marco Graf brings innocence and childlike insight as the youngest of the cared for family, Diego Cortina and Carlos Peralta provide the quarreling and boundless energy of young boys, while Daniela Demesa is the reserved and quiet child.  Veronica Garcia’s tender but firm hand is always present as the grandmother of the cared for family.  Appearances by Nancy Garcia, Jose Manuel Guerrero and a special appearance by Latin Lover round out the top notch cast.

It’s funny how films so seemingly quiet and low key are so powerful and introspective.  This one was definitely a quiet storm, and one with enough impact to shift my top ten list for 2018.  If you’ve not done so already, carve out a couple of hours of Netflix time and check out Roma. 

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