Roma (2018) Reviews

• I get it.

  johnofardeal2019-01-24

  I get why the numerous nominations and I get why some people were disappointed by the lack of storytelling. First things first - the cinematography is stellar and poetic. You could pause the movie every 5 seconds and get a stunning photograph. The long takes simply got me. Secondly - yes, there is no epic story here. And you know what? That's exactly how things are in life. This is what this movie is all about - the silent drama of the boring lives we, normal people, go through as we sit on time's sidelines. In the grand schemes of things, we don't matter. Just as Cleo's drama doesn't matter to anyone except her. She's all alone with her struggles, just as we all are.

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• Really, really great camera panning

  Flusenboy2018-12-24

  This movie is great if you like, nay, if you love camera panning. There is so much panning, it's truly fantastic. Very artistic. 90 degrees, 180 degrees, once even 450 degrees!! Oh and tracking also. Panning and tracking, tracking and panning, panning and tracking galore. And just when you think "wow, this panning has been so great and so abundant, they can't possibly squeeze in any more!" well, right at that moment you're in for a treat. No spoilers, you will need to see for yourself what treat I mean. Oh, there's also a story in there somewhere about a middle class family in the Mexico in the 70s, marital problems and a Mixtec indigenous live-in household help. But I truly don't think any of that is really relevant to the movie, at least not as much as the panning.

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• Pretentious, plotless and soporific

  dierregi2019-02-12

  I really had to force myself to watch this movie on Netflix, in three times, each "session" lasting as long as I could, before I started to drift off. I knew I was in trouble from the opnening scene of a symmetrically tiled floor being washed. Interesting it wasn't, but for sure it lasted a very long time. The unexciting opening credits were followed by disconnected episodes in the life of a large family and their two maids. Apologies to the politically correct police, but for a while I could not distinguish one maid from the other. After a while I learnt one was Cleo and the other Adela. We focus on Cleo, who gets pregnant by an "inconsiderate" lover (understatement of the year). In the meantime, Sofia, the lady of the house is dumped by her doctor husband for a younger model. Sofia must take care of their four kids on her own, but does not seem quite up to the task. All this slightly soap-opera drama is seen from a distance, dialogues are boring and few and far between. There is no building of tension or plot development. Other than this being filmed in black & white to offer a political statement of some sort, there is nothing that strucks me as genuinely moving. As a commercial operation, it's certainly the perfect Oscar bait. Yet another Mexican director will bag the big prize and everybody will be righteously happy that justice prevailed.... I mean, that the best film won the prize it deserves...or whatever

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• Boring, Nothing film

  pjaycuk2019-02-11

  After forcing myself to watch this film to the end I just cannot understand the positive comments concerning the film. The film had no interest for me, I felt no emotion, I felt nothing. Someone mentioned the Emperor's New Clothes !!!. After seeing the BAFTA awards and some of the comments I think I have to admit to myself that I know nothing about film art and must be a complete moron on the subject. Some excellent nominations this year and they pick this film. I cannot remember watching a film that had so little interest for me. I have studied the positive comments and still cannot understand why it is claimed to be so good. Please someone agree with me.

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• I tried

  scoops352018-12-27

  I sincerely tried to get into this movie. I was honestly bored throughout the film. I loved the camera work and get what this was going for. I just could not get invested as much as I wanted to. Not a bad movie. Just not keeping me tuned in. Although I do say again Cinematography was very nice throughout the film.