ReelBob: ‘Roma’ ★★★½
By Bob Bloom
You inhale writer-director Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma.”
You allow the movie’s sights and smells to envelop you in a world surrounded by turmoil and tragedy but held together by love and loyalty.
The movie is a cinematic love letter to the women of Cuarón’s childhood — especially his mother and the domestic workers who helped raise him.
This exquisite black-and-white movie, which debuts Dec. 14in some theaters and on Netflix, is a story of class distinction, domestic upheaval and political unrest, set against the backdrop of the middle-class Roma neighborhood in Mexico City.
Cleo is the domestic worker, beloved by her employers, as well as their young children.
“Roma” is more a series of vignettes than a cohesive narrative. It basically covers a period in 1970 and ’71, when violent clashes between protesters and the military rocked Mexico City.
The protests mostly centered on land being appropriated from poor, indigenous people who lived in villages outside the city.
Cleo is one of those people, and like many others, she found work in the city in exchange for room and board.
Cleo may be uneducated, but she has a big and loving heart. She is a gentle soul — and the foundation on which “Roma” rests.
Yalitza Aparicio’s portrayal of Cleo seems so natural and effortless. She makes you believe that she simply walked in off the street and stepped in front of Cuarón’s camera.
Cleo’s employer, Sofia (Marina de Tavira), is dealing with problems that she is hiding from the family. Her husband, ostensibly on a work-related trip to Canada, has, in reality, abandoned the family.
Sofia struggles — successfully — to keep the family together.
One of Cuarón’s themes is the position of Mexican women during this era. The status quo remains very traditional — with men leading and women following. Strong, self-sufficient women such as Sofia are the exception, not the rule.
All these threads are unraveled in a leisurely manner. Cuarón wants you to get to know the family, and he is in no rush to push events.
Rather, he wants you to savor the various dynamics — Cleo and her employer, Cleo and the children, Sofia and her challenges, as well as Cleo’s free time away from the family.
Tragedy invades Cleo’s life after her boyfriend impregnates, then deserts, her. When she tracks him down, he threatens her.
The understanding Sofia, without judgment, helps Cleo during her pregnancy and its heartbreaking aftermath.
“Roma” runs 135 minutes and requires patience. It’s a movie you will admire more than enjoy.
Cuarón uses his camera like an artist utilizing his brush. His canvas may be black and white, yet, in your mind, you can picture colors swirling around you.
“Roma” overflows with emotion and beauty. It will make you smile, cry and want to comfort women such as Cleo and Sofia, who face life, love and sorrow on their own terms — with heads unbowed.
I am a founding member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association. My reviews appear at ReelBob (reelbob.com) and Rottentomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com).I also review Blu-rays and DVDs. I can be reached by email at bobbloomjc@gmail.comor on Twitter @ReelBobBloom. Links to my reviews can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn.
ROMA
3½ stars out of 4
(R), nudity, sexual situations, disturbing images, violence, language