Review of Roma (2018) by Petearellano — 14 Dec 2018

Unfortunately, although the premise is universal and criticizes disparity in society, Roma is a film that can only be fully understood by a middle-class Mexican. That forgotten class that exists and struggles inside the Latin American country.

Only a Mexican will identify the nostalgia of playing with hail during the rainy season or the stress posed by an incoming earthquake. Only a Mexican will remember the authoritarian rule of the PRI and the student repression ordered by the government.

With long and depressing shots -such as everydayness- Cuarón portrays wonderfully the life of the domestic service in Mexico. Moreover, he plays with the nostalgia of daily life in Mexico City before the overpopulation of the incoming decades.

A time long yearned by the old citizens of the largest metropolis in the Western Hemisphere. Peculiarly, most criticism to Roma is drawn by people who do not understand the dynamic of Mexican life. Cuarón's family is not a wealthy one, they can afford domestic service because one of the tragedies of the Latin American country is precisely the wages of this cruel benefit.

Moreover, most of the people engaged in this servitude comes precisely from the largely marginalized indigenous communities of Southern Mexico. Roma is a must-see. Not only to appreciate another facet of the neighbor to the south but to understand that injustice is present in every social stratum.