Roma

News that ‘cinema is dead’ has not yet reached Mexico, and Alfonso Cuarón’s latest film ‘Roma’ is the proof! Based on Cuarón’s own upbringing in a middle-class home in 1970s Mexico City, Roma is a humane, masterfully tender portrait of Cleo, the family’s housekeeper and nanny. A pivotal work of social and emotional realism, which chronicles a year from Cleo’s perspective, the film taps into the tropes of domestic labor along with the inner care she provides to the family and her rare private moments away from the home.

Roma, shot in beautiful black and white cinematography, is a remarkable example of Cuarón’s deeply personal modes of storytelling with unparalleled craft; “A work of art reminds us that we are living sentients and not mere data entry agents for the hive”.

Other suggested viewing includes Cuarón’s ‘Y Tu Mamá Tabmién’ (2001), ‘Children of Men’ (2006) and ‘Gravity’ (2013), as well as fellow Mexican film director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s ‘Amores Perros’ (2000), ‘Babel’ (2006), ‘The Revenant’ (2015) and Iñárritu’s short film ‘Carne y Arena’ (2017).