Master Rank #381

Roma

2018

GCML Total8.6640% Greatness · 40% Engagement · 20% Ease

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

CastYalitza Aparicio · Marina de Tavira

MexicoSpanish / MixtecDrama / History / Biography135 minR
GCML CuratedNarrative FeatureModerate pace
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List
Oscar · 3Globe · 2BAFTA · 4Venice · 1

Spoiler-free premise

A domestic worker navigates family life and social upheaval in 1970s Mexico City.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

In 1970–71 Mexico City, Mixtec domestic worker Cleo cares for four children in the household of Sofía and Antonio. Her pregnancy and the family's marital upheaval unfold beside student unrest, political violence, and the routines of Colonia Roma.

Why it belongs

Employing deep-focus monochrome, lateral movement, sound, and Aparicio's watchful Cleo to connect home and history, Cuarón transforms memory into expansive observation.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Courtyards, tiled floors, dog waste, cinema streets, hospital rooms, ocean surf, and densely layered sound let private routine share frames with political upheaval—Yalitza Aparicio's still attention anchors the moving world.

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