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Audrey Kupferberg: Roma

ROMA is the artful, attention-grabbing new film by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alfonzo Cuaron.  He made GRAVITY, HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, and Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN.  Now it seems he possibly may have another Academy Award winner to his credit!

With ROMA, Cuaron shows his skills as writer, director and cinematographer.  ROMA, a major production which is winning lots of praise, has been released on Netflix streaming concurrently with a limited theatrical run.  This distribution scheme makes some film critics, industry people, and viewers edgy.  Why is such an important film relegated to Netflix streaming so soon?  My view is that the distribution pattern of ROMA is the wave of the future.  How soon will it be before most new films will be released directly or almost-directly to home viewing sources? 

Let’s face fact.  Film theaters are no longer the primary viewing venue.  Digital technology and the proliferation of large, widescreen TV monitors in residences have made home viewing the most inexpensive and convenient way to enjoy motion pictures.  I used to think that the last holdout for the movie-going theater experience was the teenaged dating couple who wanted to see movies in mall theaters for the sake of privacy from parents and inquisitive siblings.  But these days, most teenagers just retreat to one of the screening facilities in the home and close the door behind them!

Getting back to ROMA, it’s an extraordinary art film.  Cuaron has full authority over the project; he’s a master filmmaker.  From the film’s establishment shot, the viewer is aware that this is going to be a cinematic treat.  The story takes us into the affluent home of a family in Mexico City in 1970.  The focus of the next two-plus hours will be the housekeeper, Cleo, played with sensitivity by newcomer Yalitza Aparicio.  Does this newbee actor come by such talent naturally, or is it the great good luck of having Cuaron’s expert guidance?

Cuaron chose to shoot ROMA with 65mm b/w film stock.  As a result, the look of the film is exquisite.  Throughout, ROMA has the visual feel of the post-World War II Neorealism movement, but the images are sharper. 

The plot of the movie is based on the filmmaker’s childhood memories.  For the first hour, we see the family as they go about mainly insignificant daily doings.  Frankly, it was difficult to keep engaged.  Unless viewers have great patience, they will begin fast-forwarding.  Then, in the second hour, a number of highly emotional events occur.  Don’t fast-forward during the second half or you will fail to appreciate the manner in which Cuaron builds and releases the most stunning episodes of the movie.  Maybe the uneven tempo of the script is due to the fact that these incidents are reveries of youth.  Maybe he is calling up memories in a dreamlike fashion, rather than with a more formal literary build-up.

Finally, why is a film about a group of people in Mexico City called ROMA?  As the first credits rolled, I expected to see a story about the capital of Italy!  Actually, the movie is about the Colonia Roma district of Mexico City.  So its title is ROMA.  Who knew?? 

Audrey Kupferberg is a film and video archivist and appraiser. She is lecturer emeritus and the former Director of Film Studies at the University at Albany and has co-authored several entertainment biographies with her husband and creative partner, Rob Edelman.

The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.

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