Roma (Mexican, Spanish; 2018)
Written, Produced and Directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
Written, Produced and Directed by Alfonso Cuarón.
At first impulse, it looked like it was going to be draggy long-paused 'arty' movie. Set in the tumultuous times of the early 1970s Mexico, the story is shown in black and white against a background akin to a neorealist style with long takes and long pauses.It looks like a reminder that history has a bad habit of repeating itself. If now, we have a citizen elected President peaceful ejected by his own in Venezuela, maybe soon to be replaced by a US back figurehead, in the late 60s and 70s Mexico, the situation was about the same. In Mexico, however, the US supported President was hated by his people. The opposing peasants and university students were labelled as communists and were systematically killed by the ruling government.
 |
| The family who eats together stays together. |
This film, however, has nothing to do with political injustice or revenge of the bygone era.
The story starts telling about the life of a maid, Cleo, an indigenous woman, who works in the middle-class household in the small town of Roma in Mexico.
In the first quarter, in a slow build up, it dawns upon us that everything is not right between the man and woman of the family. Antonio, a doctor, the husband, is leaving the wife, Sofia, and their four kids for his mistress. Cleo gets pregnant after being introduced to her fellow worker's relative.
What builds up slowly eventually morphs into a fountain of genius in storytelling and cinematography.
In the second half of the movie, the storyteller tells us how Sofia, Cleo and the kids build an everlasting relationship that lasts a lifetime. Cleo loses her child, in the midst of the chaos that is happening in the country and the household. In spite of all the adversities, the family comes out strong with Cleo becoming like a second mother to the children. 4.8/5
 |
In one frame, poetically, much is told about marriage - which is nothing than just a declaration of private intentions. On the left is a happy couple celebrating their wedding with much pomp and splendour. What waits in their future, nobody knows. In the centre, just below the pincer of the giant crab statue, is Cleo, an indigenous housemaid who had an unwanted pregnancy from casual contact with a date who refuse to take responsibly. In the end, as if like Nature making what seems like the best decision for her, Cleo delivers a stillborn. She never wanted the baby anyway. Then on the right is Sofia with her four children. Her marriage ended when her husband walked out on her, for another lady. Sofia and Cleo end up bringing up the four kids. Is the storyteller telling us that you do not need a man to bring up a family? It was semi-autobiography about his childhood anyway. That is a reality. There are biological differences between the genders. Everyone is fitted to perform specific biological duties. Each gender should complement the other; not compete with the other. |
https://asok22.wixsite.com/real-lesson
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Comments
Post a Comment