I have often wondered about the very curdled natures of our opinions so much so that the perch of imagination simply becomes a bystanding abstraction and real thoughts of genuine merit slip between the fingers. That is a human tendency, to beat arou...
Three days ago, I had written a post on this acclaimed Mexican cinematic gem that gives credence to the idea of universality as much more than a global construct. The dramatic presentation of a woman's personal journey, the family she serves for and the state of societal churning in the country around early 70s Mexico embraces nostalgia and the art of remembrance like no other. It goes without saying that it was not enough to write a single post as I wanted to share few other salient features that captured my attention vis a vis its unflinching realism and diurnal poetry.
Alfonso Cuaron's ROMA is now a globally recognized masterpiece that revels in its intensity, warmth, love for the nurturing roles of mothers and mother figures indispensable to middle / upper middle class structure and the silence of its emotionally animated frames. Yalitza Aparicio's turn as Cleo, the facsimile of the nanny who practically raised Alfonso and his siblings is one for the ages and a definitive artistic benchmark that comes once in a lifetime. For all true blue worldwide cinephiles, it's a blessing that Roma's universal nature has broken through the clutter of arthouse boxes a sensitive and humanistic work as this usually espouses, something which in a commerce driven epoch would have underestimated its beauty of purpose. Roma has overturned the odds to examine class, gender, society and represent cinema at its purest, a microcosm of realistic values. As my title says it all, Cleo's heartbeats echo throughout the world. Cuaron and Yalitza's collective Midas touch goes beyond the immediate era of setting to shed light on the textures that make life worthwhile even amid a million heartbreaks. The fabric of humanity is enough to sustain us.
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In the absence of a background score and the emphasis on naturalistic images, long takes and sound, Cuaron finds the natural sustenance for his vision in the silences laden with meanings and a life force that is definitive for him and us. I personally feel by employing a black and white palette, he taps into the very personal pulse of our memories. Come to think of it, whenever we think of the past, a random moment in time, a monochromatic image leaps out of our mind's multiple crannies. The faces, places all come without a colour scheme to the mind's eye and a sepia toned singularity pervades. I feel that way as I'm sure many others do. The memory is stronger and those who populate it hold centrestage. In ROMA, cinematic realism is paramount.
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