In recent years several Oscars have been held by three Mexicans: Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro González Isrritu and Alfonso Cuarón. Three friends, the three of Mexico, the three with many stories to tell?Audiences and critics have welcomed their talent at the most prestigious international festivals. Today we will talk in particular about the film Rome, by Alfonso Cuarón.
These three foreign directors, immigrants, from a country where the spiritual is very present in their tradition, are increasingly recognized. Despite its adaptation to the new demands, to the vast new market in which they operate on very high budgets, Mexico remains very present in its trajectories.
- Rome is a memory.
- It is the childhood of Cuarón told from a distance.
- From maturity.
- Take off from yourself and get involved in the perspective of a woman who would otherwise be invisible.
- A film in which the exceptional hardly stands out.
- Where the forgotten and the everyday are the protagonists.
WARNING: The item may contain spoilers
Cuarón bases his roots on his childhood, on the life of the wealthy family in a convulsive environment, such as the Corpus Christi massacre of 1971, to tell us the story of an invisible character, of the maid of half-breed origin.
It gets lost in the details; Your camera stops in front of small things, such as water used to wash the floor, a plane that crosses the sky, or the faeces of the domestic dog.
The camera moves with Cleo, the protagonist, shows us her emotions, her routine, follows her, hides her, accompanies her all the time, through the details and movements of the camera, Cuarón describes Cleo, tells us without saying anything in words. , the images speak for themselves and build a realistic portrait.
Each of the images is loaded with infinite meanings. Why focus on water?Why focus on dog faeces?Cuarón uses the context, the visual, all the elements that make up the story, the insignificant little things, giving them a powerful and profound meaning that will give us the keys to this story. The invisible makes sense, the invisible is now the protagonist. through Cleo’s portrait.
Symbols take on great importance in Rome, they explain everything that cannot be said in words. Water is synonymous with life, origin and principle. Such of Miletus stated in ancient times that the arch is water, that is, the beginning of all things.
So was water considered a symbol of life, motherhood, immortality?It is associated, in turn, with purification, with rebirth. This is what we see in certain religions, such as Christianity, where water is essential for baptism.
In Rome, water has been present from the beginning, giving a clue to Cleo’s work. Throughout the film, the water will appear in several ways: like hail, like shower water, like drops falling from the clothes laid out?To end up in the vastness, of the sea.
Water is an essential element in humans and also on our planet. Accompany Cleo during the film and finally submerge her in the ocean, saving the children without knowing how to swim. A scene in which the catharsis, purification and evolution of the character occurs. .
Other elements, such as fire, reflections, nature and Cleo’s relationship with her, are equally important and significant, but perhaps one of the most striking is the plane. An airplane that we already see as a reflection in the water in the film’s credits, an airplane that appears at key moments and reappears at the end.
This aircraft is presented to us as the future of life, as a trajectory and, at the same time, a flight, freedom and adventure that contrasts with the daily life of Cléo.
When it goes from the general to the private, it is located in a known environment, in the 1970s in Mexico and in the various conflicts, but without entering it, the depth is centered on Cleo, but also on the family itself that presents us. , on the separation of his parents and on the role to be acquired by his mother.
The film presents itself as life itself; Conflicts, problems and actions occur unexpectedly, although they leave us clues.
The image of the father appears to be related to that of the car; a great American car that barely passes your door and represents power, money, however the father leaves not to get into a much smaller car and gives us a scene that, at first, we don’t understand very well, but that will make sense. with the result of the film.
The mother is another great protagonist, she takes care of getting rid of the iconic car, breaking with her past, buying a smaller and more practical one, the hug between the parents is really significant: while the mother is anxious and kisses her as if she does not want to let go, the father is more distant.
Finally, it is the mother he he or she he reveals to us that they have separated and, in this way, we understand her role in the film, her concerns and her anguish.
Rome envelops us with a delicate and nostalgic black and white and gives us the opportunity to meet the Mixtec people or at least their language. The indigenous people, faithfully represented by Cléo, finally stand out in cinema, finally showing before our eyes a reality that exists, lives, suffers and smiles.
Cleo, despite his routine life, also falls in love, suffers from pain and we accompany him in some of the most significant moments of his life.
The scene of the deliveries is really impressive; we can feel cleo’s pain and guilt that the character feels and manifests in the ocean. Cleo and her partner Adela are played by two Mixtec women with no acting experience, but who bring enormous realism to the film.
Cuarón reconciles with his childhood, introduces us to Cleo, inspired by the figure of Libo, who was his nanny, builds a perfectly narrated portrait, immerses us in the details of everyday life, takes us towards cleo’s sensations and emotions, follows her. touring all the spaces of the house, showing us the different rooms and the differences between the life of the wealthy family and that of the maid.
With all this he manages to pay a well-deserved tribute, embracing the diversity of cultures, languages and people who inhabit the same world.