A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.A year in the life of a middle-class family's maid in Mexico City in the early 1970s.
- Won 3 Oscars
- 253 wins & 232 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Alfonso Cuarón and the Meaning of Memory
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe lengthy delivery scene in the hospital was only shot once. The doctors and nurses were real, not actors, hired to make the scene feel more authentic.
- GoofsReflection of a few members of the crew is visible during dolly shot as Cleo walks to the movie theater with the family.
- Crazy creditsThe closing credits end with "Shantih Shantih Shantih," the conclusion to every mantra in the Upanishads, a collection of 108 Hindu scriptures. "Shantih" was referenced several times in Alfonso Cuarón's earlier film, Children of Men (2006).
- ConnectionsFeatured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Early Oscar Contenders You NEED to See (2018)
Featured review
An amazing film for the history of cinema. But maybe not for the audience's history.
"I just watched this film and I didn't really like it that much as everyone else does. But I have no idea why I don't."
This film creates exceptional reality with the details of the characters, and how they traverse with each other in their day-to-day lives. The way that the characters related to one another, and spoke with each other was just as if we went away for a short time into our cinemas or screens, to view a family 50 years ago go about their lives. It was an amazing film to experience as an aspiring filmmaker, but because of all that realism, I felt it left something crucially important out.
Watching this film was like going out on a date with an attractive girl/guy who had all the great features they can have, but there was no real personal connection with me. They just sat there on the date in front of me, telling me about their lives and what they did, instead of having any real relation with them about what they do or have done.
The reason that I think most people dislike this film (for the odd reasons they state) is that there was no film to audience connection, or in other terms, that it was passive. Yes of course there was continual heart warming emotion displayed throughout all areas of the scenes, but some of the scenes conveyed too much realism (yes too much) to not even address the audience watching the film. And no, if you are thinking that the film should have been more active with the viewer, with on-the-nose dialogue, or voice-overs towards the audience, no. I just wanted a reason to keep watching, that's what connection is within a film. Yes the acting, cinematography, editing, etc was all superb, but there was no real reason I wanted to play along with the film.
I felt that it was as if the film was so well executed it won the hearts of many cinema lovers, and filmmakers, but it did not cater for the audience of the world who aren't into the minor details of cinema. A good story is something that the audience should be apart of from the opening scene, to the ending shot- as to be honest, I sadly didn't feel within this film, like the quote stated above.
It spent too much time looking good for the people, instead of really delving into the hearts of the audiences, which is what I personally love out of a good film. As a filmmaker however, I can definitely say I will be watching this again and again due to its immaculate execution of filmography and craft.
Thank you Alfonso Cuarón.
8/10
This film creates exceptional reality with the details of the characters, and how they traverse with each other in their day-to-day lives. The way that the characters related to one another, and spoke with each other was just as if we went away for a short time into our cinemas or screens, to view a family 50 years ago go about their lives. It was an amazing film to experience as an aspiring filmmaker, but because of all that realism, I felt it left something crucially important out.
Watching this film was like going out on a date with an attractive girl/guy who had all the great features they can have, but there was no real personal connection with me. They just sat there on the date in front of me, telling me about their lives and what they did, instead of having any real relation with them about what they do or have done.
The reason that I think most people dislike this film (for the odd reasons they state) is that there was no film to audience connection, or in other terms, that it was passive. Yes of course there was continual heart warming emotion displayed throughout all areas of the scenes, but some of the scenes conveyed too much realism (yes too much) to not even address the audience watching the film. And no, if you are thinking that the film should have been more active with the viewer, with on-the-nose dialogue, or voice-overs towards the audience, no. I just wanted a reason to keep watching, that's what connection is within a film. Yes the acting, cinematography, editing, etc was all superb, but there was no real reason I wanted to play along with the film.
I felt that it was as if the film was so well executed it won the hearts of many cinema lovers, and filmmakers, but it did not cater for the audience of the world who aren't into the minor details of cinema. A good story is something that the audience should be apart of from the opening scene, to the ending shot- as to be honest, I sadly didn't feel within this film, like the quote stated above.
It spent too much time looking good for the people, instead of really delving into the hearts of the audiences, which is what I personally love out of a good film. As a filmmaker however, I can definitely say I will be watching this again and again due to its immaculate execution of filmography and craft.
Thank you Alfonso Cuarón.
8/10
- j.kurtzer
helpful•4729
- joshkurtzer
- Jan 8, 2019
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Khu Phố Roma
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $1,140,769
- Runtime2 hours 15 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content