Roma: Best Picture Review

Review

With Alfonso Cuarón pulling quintuple duty (Producer, Director, Writer, Editor, Cinematographer), he has made a near-perfect gem of a film. It is a beautifully shot black-and-white film, complete with Cuarón's signature wide shots that can only be fully grasped on the biggest screen possible. Loosely based on Cuarón's mother, it is written and acted with a sense of realness often lacking in most films today (with the exception of Eighth Grade). As a disclaimer, the film is spoken entirely in either Spanish or an indigenous language called mixtec. Speaking of acting, first-timer Yalitza Aparicio delivers a very compelling and evocative performance as Cleo, a live-in maid. Her acting is so natural. It feels as if she's not even reading a script. The complete lack of a score helps to draw the viewer's attention to the story, making it known that feelings are the focus of this film. This film is a love letter to Mexico, and it's a damn good one.