Roma

Plot(Spoiler Alert)

Taking place in the early 1970s in Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, Cleo is the maid for Sofia and her family.



Blaine: Alfonso Cuaron is best known for making movies like “Y Tu Mama Tambien”, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, “Children of Men” and “Gravity”. Alfonso never had a personal project before until “Roma”. “Roma” is based on things from Alfonso's childhood and his maid, Liboria. Liboria was like a second mother to Alfonso and she was like family. “Roma" was a project Alfonso wanted to do for a while and it was a movie he kept asking himself when he was going to make it. He thought he was going to make it after “Children of Men” in 2006. Alfonso thought it would be better to have some more time with the project while developing it. Alfonso Cuaron, Alejandro G. Inarritu (Birman, The Revenant) and Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Hellboy, The Shape of Water) had known each other since the ‘80s. They were three men who showed the same love for cinema. At that time, the Mexican cinema was being suffocated because the Mexican government was against Mexican cinema. But those three made it. The three of them are brilliant storytellers and usually they ask for each other’s opinion on a screenplay they have written, but for “Roma” Alfonso felt he didn’t need another person’s opinion on the “Roma” script or ask how he could write a scene better because he felt positive that the script was perfect as it is. Almost everything in “Roma” came from Alfonso’s memories. It’s based on fact. Guillermo del Toro was moved by “Roma” when he saw it and said Alfonso Cuaron has told a story no one has ever told before and it’s a great story for Mexico. There were no copies of the script for “Roma”. It’s writer, Alfonso, had the only copy. The actors didn’t get to see the script. Every day on set, Alfonso gave the actors the dialog and told them all the details of what he wanted to see. None of the actors knew what would become of their characters because they didn’t get to look at the script and so they didn’t know how the story was going to go.

Colonia, Roma is the name of the neighborhood the story takes place in, which is why the name of the film is “Roma”. It took Alfonso a while to figure out the right title for this personal project of his. The name Roma just stuck with him. One of the things “Roma” required was recreating a 1970s Mexico. Alfonso remembers how everything looked back then, but it also required some research for everyone who helped bring his vision to life. They looked at old photos of Mexico in the 70s. They didn’t build it on a stage because it had to feel real. They were lucky to find a house that looked a lot like the house Alfonso lived in as a child. That house was about to be demolished by the time they found it. It doesn’t exist anymore. After they were done with the house it was torn down. It is now an apartment building. They did a lot of remodeling on that house while it was still there, like adding a kitchen and a service premises where Cleo lives. The house also needed plenty of space for the camera and the lighting.

It was difficult for Alfonso to find the right actress to play the character Cleo. She had to show the spirit of this woman. The casting went on for months. They had to go to different towns in Mexico to find the right person. Principal photography was about to begin and still Alfonso couldn’t find his Cleo. Finally, they found Yalitza. Yalitza Aparicio was not an actress at all. She didn’t train herself to become an actress. Her goal in life was to be a teacher and she had graduated from school. Yalitza thought that “Roma” was going to be about trafficking when the project came her way. She had no idea who Alfonso was. Yalitza was already waiting six months to get the results in order to get a job and she had nothing else going on so she decided to be in “Roma”. That was a relief for Alfonso because he really wanted Yalitza and he would be depressed if she turned it down. Yalitza didn’t know anything about how movies were made and so she thought this is how it went. She did learn the dialog fast. Yalitza got a real learning experience in making a film and she found it fascinating. Yalitza got to meet with Liboria and from the moment she met her she could see this was a kind woman. Liboria told Yalitza everything about her life. The things she went through, her relationship with her family, the problems she went through. Yalitza was worried because wanted to honor this woman and she wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to do a good enough job. But Liboria said things that helped Yalitza feel calm. She believed in Yalitza. Cleo is treated like a nobody at times. Things are a little rough with her. Being ditched by her boyfriend when she becomes pregnant, then losing the baby.



Marina De Tavira is a theatre actress and she too has never experienced being in a film before. They wanted to know what type of person Marina was and talk a little about herself when she was called in to audition. Marina had no idea who the director was until a month later. They had her do a little bit of acting when she was called back in and then she was informed Alfonso was going to direct the movie. Marina couldn’t believe it because Alfonso is big. Marina plays the mother of the kids Cleo looks after. Alfonso described Sofia to Marina. Day by day Marina would learn something new about Sofia. Alfonso told Marina that Sofia lives within you. Sofia is multi layered, she changes her moods and she is motivated by her background. Marina didn’t know what the fate was for Sofia.

Emmanuel Lubezki is a very skilled cinematographer and he has done the cinematography for almost every film Alfonso Cuaron has done. Emmanuel was on Alfonso’s mind as he was putting together the script and Emmanuel was supposed to do the cinematography for “Roma”, but when it finally came to prep up for shooting, Emmanuel wasn’t available. Emmanuel was able to help though. While “Roma” was in pre-production, Emmanuel had ideas for how to shoot some of the main things. Alfonso said Emmanuel may not have done the cinematography work as they were shooting, but his spirit was with them. Alfonso did the cinematography himself. Alfonso wanted the film to be in black and white because he said it can represent the past and this was a film based on fact that takes place during the 70s. The opening shot during the credits just shows a floor with soupy water running through because Cleo is washing it.

Close to the end, two of the children nearly get carried off by a strong current and Cleo goes in to rescue them even though she does not know how to swim. The ocean shot was a pain. Alfonso only did one take of it. They had to build this pier in order to bring the camera all the way out into the ocean. There was a techno crane on top of the pier. The night before they shot that scene, there was a tropical storm. They had 40 minutes in the shot. Alfonso would written a different ending if that shot didn’t work out. Alfonso could only do one take of the scene in the ocean. There was times Alfonso needed a moment because what he was directing was very personal. He got upset while shooting one scene and he had to stop and take a walk. One the crew members asked Alfonso why he was upset because they were doing an amazing job. He told Alfonso they have the street he grew up in and the production team has turned it into something it looked 40 years ago. Another thing Alfonso was worried about was the real person, who Cleo is based on. If she would be comfortable. She would visit the set. She watched them shoot a scene that was a bit painful. Alfonso went to check on her and she was crying. It made Alfonso question himself if he was crossing some boundaries. Alfonso asked her if she felt comfortable with him doing this. Alfonso wanted to know if they should stop, but she told him not to stop. What she was crying about was the children. She was worried about them. That was the same reaction at the end of the film. She was not crying for the circumstance in the film, but the pain the kids were going through.

My rating on “Roma” is five out of five stars