Alfonso Cuarón might be my favourite living director, jesus that was brilliant. Where to begin with this masterpiece...
Well - to start - 'Roma' is one of the most beautiful films of the decade, every shot is masterfully executed, blocked, framed, and detailed. Cuarón himself was the cinematographer in this project, and he did a phenomenal job. You can't help but have your jaw on the floor the entire runtime. Right from the opening shot I knew I was in for something masterful. Cuarón's signature long takes were ever prevelant here, and each was as masterful as the last. Sometimes he lingers on a subject beautifully to exentuate a point, or makes a small adjustment to a shot - giving it a completely different meaning. The symmetry and pure brilliance of every single scene sends chills down your spine. I won't spoil it, but there's a particular shot near the middle of the film involving a man singing, where Caurón plays with the contrast between background and foreground so powerfully it got even got a few tears rolling.
Cuarón's visual motifs find their way across the film, tying the somewhat loose plot into a resounding and heart wrenching force. Again - no spoilers - but he uses planes, water, cars, dogs, and themes of birth and death to represent metaphorically or sometimes literally how characters feel and how their relationships to eachother are.
The lead performance from Yalitza Aparicio was great, especially considering this is the first film she's ever acted in. Hats off to the casting director for plucking her out of obscurity and having her end up delivering such a resounding performance. I really hope this movie will jump start a career for her.
This film is a grandmaster at the top of his game, and is breathtaking perfection from start to finish. Alfonso Cuarón returns to his Spanish roots for a passion project he's been talking about since 2006. He excercises almost total creative control by wearing a lot of hats on the production. He directed, co-produced, wrote, edited, and photographed this film. A complete 180 from his last three studio works (although some of them are masterpieces), ROMA exercises more storytelling prowess than them, and no one will be calling this film 'style over substance' no matter how beautiful it is.
'Roma' is another Cuarón masterpiece, and I'm happy that it will be seen to a vastly larger audience because of the Netflix distribution. However, that is also a double edged sword - because this is a film that is best seen on the big screen, but I'm still pleased more people will be exposed to this masterclass in filmmaking. I urge you to watch this the second you have the chance, because Cuarón has made one of the best films of the decade.
Well - to start - 'Roma' is one of the most beautiful films of the decade, every shot is masterfully executed, blocked, framed, and detailed. Cuarón himself was the cinematographer in this project, and he did a phenomenal job. You can't help but have your jaw on the floor the entire runtime. Right from the opening shot I knew I was in for something masterful. Cuarón's signature long takes were ever prevelant here, and each was as masterful as the last. Sometimes he lingers on a subject beautifully to exentuate a point, or makes a small adjustment to a shot - giving it a completely different meaning. The symmetry and pure brilliance of every single scene sends chills down your spine. I won't spoil it, but there's a particular shot near the middle of the film involving a man singing, where Caurón plays with the contrast between background and foreground so powerfully it got even got a few tears rolling.
Cuarón's visual motifs find their way across the film, tying the somewhat loose plot into a resounding and heart wrenching force. Again - no spoilers - but he uses planes, water, cars, dogs, and themes of birth and death to represent metaphorically or sometimes literally how characters feel and how their relationships to eachother are.
The lead performance from Yalitza Aparicio was great, especially considering this is the first film she's ever acted in. Hats off to the casting director for plucking her out of obscurity and having her end up delivering such a resounding performance. I really hope this movie will jump start a career for her.
This film is a grandmaster at the top of his game, and is breathtaking perfection from start to finish. Alfonso Cuarón returns to his Spanish roots for a passion project he's been talking about since 2006. He excercises almost total creative control by wearing a lot of hats on the production. He directed, co-produced, wrote, edited, and photographed this film. A complete 180 from his last three studio works (although some of them are masterpieces), ROMA exercises more storytelling prowess than them, and no one will be calling this film 'style over substance' no matter how beautiful it is.
'Roma' is another Cuarón masterpiece, and I'm happy that it will be seen to a vastly larger audience because of the Netflix distribution. However, that is also a double edged sword - because this is a film that is best seen on the big screen, but I'm still pleased more people will be exposed to this masterclass in filmmaking. I urge you to watch this the second you have the chance, because Cuarón has made one of the best films of the decade.