Roma (2018)

And just like that I'm closing the curtains today in the last scene of my 101 Movies with only one shy of a film to equal parts of 20th and 21st century cinema.

My wife is raising the bar with her next challenge, she's proposing a 101-day sugar-free challenge. Let's see if I can manage to convince her of another 101 Movies instead.

I kicked off my first article of the 101 voyage around the world with my favorite film from the 20th century (if you know what I'm thinking about) and here I conclude with my favorite (so far) film of the 21st century cinema:

Roma (2018)

Written, shot, co-edited, and directed by Alfonso Cuarón

*SPOILER FREE

"No other art form is able to fix time as cinema does. Therefore, what is cinema? It's a mosaic made with time." ~ Anderi Tarkovsky

Roma is a drama set in 1970s Roma neighborhood of Mexico City and follows a year in the life of Cleo, a live-in maid to an middle-class family of father and mother, their four children and their grandma. Cleo has to look after the four children in a time of uncertainty in their and her own life.

This is a personal poem about the human experience, togetherness and loneliness, grace and guilt, tranquility and chaos, and morality and heartbreak. This an intimate portrait of visual storytelling and a faithful homage to one's memory and those who have helped shaping them.

In his semi-autobiographical masterpiece, Alfonso Cuarón takes you on a journey of realism, of real people, and in real time and space. He hits hard in his seamlessly and emotionally electrifying narrative style while on the top of his craft. Opening and closing with artistic symbolism and telling in majestic visuals what those before the camera cannot.

Though she had absolutely no experience or training in acting, Yalitza Aparicio gives an extraordinary, authentic performance as Cleo who shares a number of her own traits and vulnerability.

The soundtrack of this film is outstandingly resonant, exhilarating, and nostalgic just like the tone and images of the dream-like story.

The magnificent wide on-location cinematography and black-and-white monumental look, the real-life extras and sets, and the enthralling one-take long sequences. This is cinema at its most exquisite.

Roma is an immersive cinematic experience that transcends time and space, a slow-cooked climax of art and heart, and one of the finest moments of 21st century cinema.

"Time and space constrain us, but they also define who we are, creating inexplicable bonds with the others that flow with us at the same time and through the same places." ~ Alfonso Cuarón

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Available to watch on Netflix

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