It features almost everything you would expect from a film directed by Alfonso Caurón, yet simultaneously presents something we haven't seen from him before.
After directing big budget films such as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Gravity, Caurón is going back to his roots whilst applying his filmmaking techniques and tactics he's utilized and honed over the years. From his masterful long shots, his sweeping cinematography, and his ability to make his audience feel as if they know the characters in the film. He's applying those skills from this larger movies, into this intimate, smaller, yet equally powerful movie. It actually may be even more powerful because it's so personal.
It's not only a story inspired by his childhood, but also serves as a callback to some of his earlier films also set in Mexico, his directorial debut of Sólo con Tu Pareja and Y Tu Mamá También.
While those films featured layers of subtext, Roma is different. It's straightforward and simple. There's nothing to necessarily interpret or ponder about. We're simply watching this family live their life, in their tragedies, their humorous moments, as well as their life changing and life threatening moments.
It can be deemed his most visually appealing film, yet it still holds moments that are hard to watch. In a way, another way of being a reflection on his childhood; moments that are filled with innocence and happiness, accompanied with those moments of darkness we tend not to think about.
At a screening at the San Francisco International Film Festival, Caurón himself stated that he got emotional on set due to how personal some of the scenes were. He mentioned how this film was cathartic in a way, in looking back and processing certain things he hadn't really done before. This brings the authenticity of the film to a new level that most likely isn't in his past films. With such a personal touch, we're getting more than just an Alonso Caurón film.
We're learning more about him while simultaneously he's learning more about himself.
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