Review of Roma (2018) by Greatmartin — 01 Mar 2019

I fail to see why "Roma" is getting all the raves and awards it has been getting. In many ways, it reminded me of films from the 1950s and 1960s from European directors, mainly Italian, such as "Bitter Rice", "The Bicycle Thief", "Open City", Michelangelo Antonioni, Robert Rossellini and Victoria De Sica. The main differences are that these films and directors didn't take 2+ hours to tell their stories or linger too long even by a second on a scene whether it be a boy looking out a car window or a dog jumping up against a gate. They brought new cinematography to the screen and more depth to their stories.

Maybe it has been a long time since critics/people have seen such films that reflect life between the classes or maybe "Downton Abbey" has given them a false picture of the same. There are little passions or emotions shown by the director/screenwriter Alfonso Cuaron.

The surprising aspect of "Roma" is the acting debut of Yalitza Aparicio as a maid who has a warm connection to the children of her employers and though she is a presence throughout the film it only comes alive when it concentrates on her trials and tribulations.

With the exception of maybe 15 minutes, I was bored during most of the 2-hour 18-minute "Roma".