Review of “Roma”

"Roma is the latest offering from academy award winning director Alfonso Cuaron. It's a retrospective on his childhood in Mexico.

At the heart of the story are two women Cleo and Sofia. Cleo is a quiet but dedicated housekeeper while Sofia is the lady of the house married to a successful doctor and mother of four.

On paper, these two women don't have anything in common. We soon discover this to be untrue.

Roman is shot beautifully in black and white setting a warm tone from the first frame to the last.

Many of us of Latin American decent know these women; these women are our grandmothers, mothers, aunts, and sisters. We understand the patriarchy that raised them.

As Latin women, we are raised to put others first, family over everything.

You can see it in Cleo who left her home to be in service to someone else. Sofia’s children are rendered with affection as if they were her own. She knows their likes and dislikes, she taught them how to pray and they, in turn, rely on her for everything.

Sofia is a woman who gave up her career to become a wife. She dedicated her life to uplift and supports her husband.

What I love about Roma is how Cuaron chose to display how each woman handles heartbreak.

Cleo who is beautifully portrayed by first-time actress Yalitza Aparicio gives an unforgettable performance. You are rooting for her at every turn. You want her to win because she's a decent person. Herr performance is so great because of the subtleties.

Her strength permeates in the quiet moments for example when she is standing in front of the movie theater waiting for Fermin to return.

Veteran actress Marina de Tavira is equally strong as Sofia.

Here you have a highly successful professional woman begging for her husband's affection. She knows that their marriage is over but refuses to give up.

Unlike Aparicio’s character Cleo who's learned to internalized her, pain De Tavira gives raw emotion. From chasing after her husband to hysterically crying, Marina doesn't hold back.

The contrast of these two women is what binds them. In the end, they both are learning that men don't define their value. Their strength comes from within.

Alfonso dedication towards creating something so loving is shown not only in these two women's performance but displayed in the cinematography. He accurately captures the hustle and buzz of the big city alongside the political turmoil taking place in Mexico City during the seventies. It's in the description of local delicacy of a torta to the regional language of Mixtec spoken between Cleo and Adela. All the above add to the beauty of this cinematic masterpiece.

There's been a lot of talk about Oscar nominations, and often those terms get tossed around as marketing tools. In Roma's case, it's accurate. How fitting that during this time as we are struggling with our neighbors to the south that they honor us with such a masterpiece.

Diversity- 9 the fact that they spoke Mixtec and that he cast actors from that region show his dedication to authenticity.

Scale- This movie is one of the best films of the year, and I give it a nine for acting and cinematography.