Roma

Netflix once again proves that it doesn’t limit itself to commercially successful titles, but is also happy to fulfil the dreams of directors who deserve it. There is no doubt that Alfonso Cuarón is one of the greatest directors of the decade. As many people have mentioned already, Roma is his most personal project, which means that those 135 minutes pass by very slowly and quietly, and I found some moments slightly boring… but because everything is shot in such a brilliant way, referring to the best filmmakers of the last century, this film shouldn’t be ignored. (31/12/2018)

The surreal power of this film, I think, stems from three things. The first is actually a very ordinary story of a completely awkward main protagonist, which is almost documentary-authentic, personal and 100% impressive thanks to the ordinariness and the awkwardness. The second thing is, without exaggeration, the masterful direction of Alfonso Cuarón. That really needs to be seen. You could create the perfect art photograph from perhaps every shot, it's all thought out to the smallest detail and the black and white camera with the hearty help of sound (something we can't see at all, just we hear it) makes it a feast for the eyes (for example the monumental forest fire scene). The third thing is how the story and presentation “work together" - everything is natural, long camera rides or still shots do not distract from what's happening right now, the scenes beautifully complement each other, form a single whole, etc. I was originally expecting something from Roma in the style of Tornatore’s Malena. It's a completely different film though, completely great in a different way. And the scenes in the maternity ward or on the beach... You simply do not forget them. (29/12/2018)

Roma will not chew the viewer and make them bite their nails in tension, nor does it reminisce the type of ode to human suffering sung by the unfortunate protagonists of, for instance, Bicycle Thieves. And yet it is beautiful. It’s a film about emotions so real that in the cinema I felt a chill on my spine every time I remembered I was just watching a film. A sensitively slow narrative where the consequences are not as important as experiencing the present and empathy towards the main character. The style reflects that – the long shots and the impressive depth of the composition of the scenes, whose staging and sound design let the viewer wander in that space together with the characters to fully savour the emotions that the narration carefully prepares and foreshadows (the closing cleanse in the sea). Even though I didn’t feel the coveted cinephile bliss, I fell in love with Roma for its authentic portrayal of human togetherness and for its world, which can be inhospitable, unpredictable and loving at the same time. The direction and the cinematography are awesome. (19/12/2018)

The best works of the Czechoslovak new wave (although Fellini would know one in that) has just grown to include a related Mexican cousin, who in the circles of “more demanding" viewers can perhaps not even evoke many captivating Mexican waves. Which is so telling that I will forgive the originally intended hymns for every single aspect, from non-actors through filming and sounding to the sophistication of the narrative, which completely fulfills the saying “the devil is hidden in the details". What Cuarón, as a screenwriter / cinematographer / director, can “as if inadvertently" do in mise-en-scène (or purely noise outside the picture) in mere hints, is more than admirable. To make matters worse, despite the seemingly primordial coldness, this “celebration of ordinary strong women in our lives" is also captivating and arousing emotions like a few movies in recent years. Roma looks like a film that was five decades earlier. However, thanks to its qualities, it would not be forgotten, even if it was actually created fifty years ago. On the contrary, it would be lovingly remembered in the intentions “such master pieces are unfortunately no longer filmed today". Thanks to Cuarón, however, this is not the case; and for that one must be infinitely grateful, whether ultimately Roma is his cup of coffee or not. (15/12/2018)

Roma isn’t love at first sight, it’s not a film that would hook me in the first minutes keep me hooked all the way till the end. But, after two or three days, it did grow on me. Cuarón this time delivers a detached view into a couple of months of the life of a broken Mexican family, mainly that of their maid, Cleo. The story takes place in a sort of by the way manner, with the camera following relative “non-stories”. But each of those fragments compose a surprisingly rich mosaic of human destinies and by the end the viewer must acknowledge that a lot has actually happened. The similarities with Czech films that in the microcosm of one family tell wider stories with a universal reach are not entirely out of place. Watching it in the cinema is certainly worth it, the camera work and, in particular, the sound are top-notch. One of the films of the year. #svetozorcinema (16/12/2018)