Roma

Movie: Roma
Nominated for: TBA
How I watched: Netflix
When I fell asleep: My eyelids felt heavy for a moment, but I stayed awake.
When it had me: Parking the Galaxy!
When it lost me: It just managed to keep me engaged.

What I have to say: This movie is something so different than the entertainment to which I have become accustomed. It is an emotional tribute to a person. Not in the way that a biopic might detail the life and accomplishments of Stephen Hawking or Ray Charles, but in a far quieter and more personal way. It is beautifully shot, patient, non-judgmental and paced like life. It is a movie that sticks with you long after you have finished watching it and makes you really consider relationships, history, humility and lasting impressions. Truly unique and thoughtful cinema.

(Spoilers Ahead. Stop now if you need to watch it.)

Also? The movie flirts with being boring. There were times when I felt like I was invited to someone's house for the weekend and then they forgot about me. This is a lovely home and a lovely family and I'm so grateful to be included but should I just go read a book for a while or something? Cuaron shows us everything as if we are a fly on the wall, never pointing to one moment as more important than another. We watch dog poop being cleaned up with the same passivity as watching a child being stillborn. No music, no camera movement, no commentary. It feels weird to have a film maker just stand back and say to you, "It's not up to me. You can feel however you want about it." At times it felt indifferent although I know that was not his intention. I appreciate his desire to get out of the way and not manipulate our emotions. And still, it felt almost unsettling.

There was a scene that stood out as differently paced and constructed than the rest and that was a scene about parking a car! We watch the family's father (without ever seeing his face) attempt to fit a car into a tiny space with much frustration, recalibrating, tension and angst. It could not have been more clear that this person was at odds with the flow of the rest of the family, brought a different and unwlecome energy and quite literally did not fit in. The absurdity of this moment was wonderful and great comic relief.

The other scene that won me over was one where a field full of young men (and some onlookers) watch with reverence as a man in tights tells them what is difficult and what achievement is and demonstrates his heroism, while Cuaron shows us his personal hero is capable of all of that and so much more. It was a very lovely moment.

This movie is all the talk and for good reason. We don't often get a movie that just is its own thing without trying to be like other films, without trying to push and pull us in so many ways. Roma will definitely win its share of awards this year.