After ‘Gravity,’ Alfonso Cuarón Had His Pick of Directing Blockbusters. Instead, He Went Home to Make ‘Roma.’

Just finished watching ‘Roma’... it is so satisfying and I’m so grateful for awakening a memory... Growing up in Caracas, Venezuela in the 60s and 70s we too had a ‘Cleo’ in our family. Her name was Elcira and she came from the impoverished countryside. She helped raise three boys while my parents went to work, and lived with us for many years. After almost 40 years of living in the United States the memories are flooding back... This the effect that great art can have on our lives. Thank you, Mr. Cuarón for sharing this gorgeous, intimate portrait in film and to the NYT for a wonderful article that sheds more light on the subject. Incidentally, I would highly recommend ‘La Cienaga’ by the director Lucrecia Martel... it covers similar ground of the family dynamics in a spiraling Argentinian family.

Thank you for this article. I had the pleasure of viewing Roma on the big screen at Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox, followed by an interview with Mr. Cuarón via Skype. What strikes me in hindsight was the director’s contagious enthusiasm and humour during the interview in contrast to the rather difficult life he led as outlined in this article. This is clearly a man who has not allowed personal and professional pitfalls to embitter him. However, the bottom line is that Roma is a masterpiece that should be savoured on the big screen - easily one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. I watched the film the very next night on Netflix and felt it lost some of its devastating power and artistry, even on a 55” TV.

Last night I had the honor of spending two hours and fifteen minutes immersed in the masterpiece that is "Roma." I am, alas, often a soul who wishes to spend my moments on earth experiencing who and what for me are the greatest –- Dickens, Hemingway, Beatles, Beethoven, Rembrandt, Rothko -- and, knowing the finite commodity that life is, I've no wish to squander what little, and unknown, time I have. (At this, I often fail miserably (Instagram, Facebook, worry...) Last night was, *being* with 'Roma', was worth every instant, memory of various scenes and pondering certain ideas being dividends compounded by the moment. Knowing, then, much of Mr. Cuaron's life from the film and, now, this excellent profile, I beg one question of the piece's author, Ms. Valdes: much was said of Cuaron's early struggle and his eventual breakthrough, but I'm left mystified and a bit frustrated to have read and learned that ""...the director Jose Garcia Agraz came searching for [Cuaron]" when he was with on his way to becoming "a sad bureaucrat" after he had "shelved his cinematic dreams..." Why? What had made them wish to seek him out? If this profile were a film, it would be a major piece of information was left disregarded by the folks in charge of continuity.

"Roma" is one of the most beautiful movies I have ever seen. Cuarón is wonderful!

Sublime. Thank you Mr. Cuaron for bringing such a masterpiece to the screen. An extraordinary antidote to the polarization of our world and comic hero movies. Extraordinary.

I watched “Roma” last night. While watching I have to admit I had thoughts of ... so... when is something going to happen.... and then the beach scene when I was frantic the kids were going to drown. Absolutely frantic... talking out loud to myself! It was then I realized how entrenched I was in this family, this film that without you knowing it encapsulated you as though you were living with this family.. that they were my family. I cared and worried about them! What a great director. Thank you Mr. Cuaron!

Terrific article. Coincidentally watched the movie last night in our Mexican home. It gave me memories of a Mexico I never actually experienced, but have somehow felt during the 15 years I’ve lived here. I “know” Cleo, Paco, Sofia, and many of the other characters. They still exist, even in 21st century Mexico. Bravo!

Thank you for this excellent article! Mr. Cuaron did what I did not think was possible! With Roma, he took me to the Mexico of my childhood, in such a powerful, vivid way that when my daughter is old enough I will show her this film and have her feel the Mexico where her mom grew up. From the Juan Gabriel, Leo Dan and Los Terricolas songs, to the sounds of the "afilador" and the view of the balloons and gas tanks, this movie is a great production with every detail carefully crafted. As in the case of many Mexicans, both my grandmothers where indigenous domestic workers who emigrated from their towns to work in the city, and just like Cuaron's mom, my mother was a brave Mexican mom who raised 4 kids on her own. Thank you Mr. Cuaron, for taking us to the Mexico of my childhood, and not leaving us with the bitter feeling of the oppression of that time, but instead with the image of hope and strength of your mom and Cleo.

Thank you for the great interview. Roma is not for everyone, but for someone who loves movies it is special. Beautiful, placid in parts and wrenching in parts, a woman's movie, fitting into the rhythm of cleaning and tending and family life, also showing life changing events that center on women. I didn't know what boy was Alfonso, but I suspected it was the second oldest because he was the only one who cried. He already knew what had happened between his parents so the confirmation was most devastating. The only complaint was the voices behind my head. That was just weird. And I would like to know why all the dog poo. Just another childhood memory or was it some kind of allegory?

brought me back to the wonder and magic of welles, de sica, truffaut, bergman, cocteau, fellini, etc. all done with his own touch .... honest and heartfelt. a simple story made in a monumental way. a perfect film

Saw Roma on the big screen to a full house. A beautifully understated film about love, family, oppression and hope.

I saw it on a big screen, and it is cinematically gorgeous, with each shot perfectly composed. But I felt a bit of an emotional remove in part because of that perfect composition. I never forgot this was a movie so the story wasn't as fully engaging as it could have or should have been. It's a very good movie, and I love his sly sense of humor, but it is a very stylized slice of life with some things about that life that remain puzzling. I don't need everything wrapped up in a bow, but there were a few too many loose threads for me (and the fact I was wondering about them reinforced that I wasn't fully engaged). And I wish Cuaron would have had a woman review the childbirth sequence beforehand because there are some fundamental mistakes (maybe it was the translation but I don't think so) that took me out of the story as I sat there wondering what was going on. He's skilled enough to have gotten me back into the scene which is one the emotional peaks of the movie, but a few small but important changes would have avoided the problem in the first place. And the fact those mistakes took me out of the story again reinforces the fact I wasn't as deeply lodged in the story as I would usually be.

Well, I just saw this movie in West LA at an exclusive engagement. This is a movie for the ages. It will be studied, loved and adored for many years. If it does not win the Academy Award for best picture it will be a travesty. But then what do I know. I can't take movies about super heroes, car crashes, obvious plot lines, one-liners, bratty smart mouth kids, product placements, etc.; all the requirements for today's blockbusters. Give me films about real people with real problems and no nice neat wrap-up ending. And please see this on the big screen. And yes, look for the "La Regle du Jeu" moment.

I'm wondering if anyone, including Cuaron, ever read Gravity by Tess Gerritsen? Which predates the screenplay he wrote. I recommend people check it out and see how original this screenplay was.

Perhaps it is about time the Oscar go itinerant out of respect owed to foreign directors and movies. Its well deserved.

"Cuarón’s own cinematic development was hamstrung for decades, he explained, by an overvaluation of aesthetics." This seems strange to me, as I can't think of a better example of the critics falling for a terrible film on account of its technique than Gravity. Who cares how long Sandra Bullock spent strapped in a box filming tedious show-offy long shots? Cuarón is so obsessed with technique he made all his astronauts behave like circus clowns in order to choreograph that ridiculous long opening shot, like he was trying to recreate Altman's The Player in space. Cuarón's cinematic "language" is so trite, and his metaphors so hammy. Oh, she's in the womb now. Oh, it's a metaphor about "letting go" where she literally has to "let go". Whoops, nearly fell off for the one hundredth time. Don't even get me started about that frog. Let's not rush to draw comparisons to Renoir, Truffant and Tarkovsky please.

Martin Scorcese has opined that cinematography is dead. After enduring as much as I could of "Gravity" a few years ago (less than 20 minutes), from what I saw an exercise in pure visual affects as opposed to cinematography, and then learning that it earned an Oscar for "Best Cinematography," well, I conclude that yes, Mr. Scorcese is indeed 100% correct.

Only one sentence about "Children of Men"??? It may not have been a hit at the box office, but it is surely one of the greatest films ever made. Simply amazing.

Watching Roma was a sublime experience — stellar on every level. Bravo, Alfonso Cuarón. You are master storyteller/filmmaker!

Haven't seen Roma yet, which I look forward to, yet I have a hard time understanding how, in this extended profile of Cuarón, his film Children of Men is only mentioned once, in passing, merely as a film that wasn't a box office hit. Are you kidding? What staggering negligence! It is now not only considered one of the great film of the early 21st century, but extraordinarily prescient on the issue of immigration and refugees. Any reader here who has not seen the film should do so. You can find it on Netflix.

Roma is a wonderfull film! Cuaron is an incredible artist!

Watched the movie yesterday. Big disappointment. 2+ hours that will never come back.

This quote is something I am grappling with. Can someone help me understand it? “And I do believe that we are all citizens of the world, but if you’re not centered and deeply rooted in a cultural identity, then that cosmopolitanism turns infertile.”

Roma was exquisite and I hope will be seen far and wide. Disappointed SAG missed giving it any nods. Yalitiza Aparicio is stunning in her quiet performance.

I haven't watch Roma but I look forward to. I lived i Mexico City and I can identify with many of the situations described in the interview. Certainly, the socioeconomic situation of Mexico than and now, provides plenty material to explore not just the reality of that country but the human condition from a cruel and joyful world.

I still remember the jaw-dropping experience of seeing “Children of Men.” A packed theater was left silenced and in place as the end credits rolled. I’ve made it a point to see his entire canon. Might I also mention that was the same year of two other amazing films from Mexican colleagues: “Pan’s Labrynth” and “Babel.”

"Roma" relates to Mexico city as the crossroads which for centuries has encountered migrants from different backgrounds as they melted into this valley and turned into a much more complex society. It'll take several generations to heal the wounds of such a chaotic and unfair blend, but this is exactly what "Roma" addresses. And the same way Carlos Fuentes depiction of Mexico city when he wrote "la región mas transparente", Roma will be a visual one and will both constitute documents to make you better understand what it means to live here. Fuentes and Cuarón are sociologists figuring out what it means to be Chilango (as we call ourselves) . Astonishing work.

This makes me want to see this movie....I lived in Oaxaca and really that he was raised by an indigenous Oaxacan really reverberates with me. The domestic workers are often mistreated and never rewarded as they should be...as I saw in various situations I lived in as a foreigner...Happy he made this movie...

Watching Roma was like watching somebody's interminable home movies. Yes, it was beautifully shot, but it was dull beyond description. And unfathomably self-indulgent. I know critics can't stop genuflecting about it, but the reason it's on Netflix is because it would do no business with a real theatrical release. I admire filmmakers who can create sophisticated, intelligent movies that appeal to more than just the tiniest sliver of an audience. That is the measure of true talent and a great film.

In 1963, the summer of my freshman year in college, I lived in Colonia Roma (on Calle Chihuahua between Jalapa and Orizaba) in a bourgeois household headed by a formerly famous painter and served by two loving indigenous women. Due to her declining fortunes, the owner rented rooms to students and a visiting professor, and held forth at hours-long luncheons to groups of local intellectuals and raconteurs. My two-month stay was life-changing as I awakened to the oppression that surrounded this island of art and ideas and occasionally creeped into its cloistered surrounds. The opening scenes in Roma had me believing momentarily that Cuaron had filmed in the very house where I absorbed the searing realization that the achingly beautiful and ugly dreamlike contradictions in Mexico in that era were portends of today's living nightmare. I kept waiting for the parrot who lived in the ivy and bougainvillea covered wall in the courtyard to cry, as it did 55 years ago, ¡Basta!

Great article! (And I loved the Accattone reference at the end. Was that Valdes, or Cuarón?) We are lucky to be living through this second Golden Age of Mexican cinema, in contrast to the mindless superhero movies coming out of Hollywood. The three compadres are among the greatest filmmakers in the world, and hopefully they will inspire others to continue making great art, both in Mexico and the U.S. Felicidades!

A masterpiece of filmmaking beauty that has reaffirmed my faith in the human capacity for love, compassion, and art. Insights gleaned from this article and others serve only to increase my admiration for everyone involved in this. Bravo!

I watched Roma last night on Netflix (yay large-screen TV's). It's masterful in many respects, but perhaps what makes it such a lovely rarity is that it's a paragon of understatement.

Roma, saw it on the big screen will see again at home. Truly beautiful, the images stayed with me long after I saw this film. Perfect filmmaking in my opinion. Wonderfully written article.

What an incredible, wonderful article! Congratulations, and thank you so much!!!

Cuaron mentions the great Tarkovsky whom Bergman thought was the greatest of them all. I am awaiting Roma here which opens next week; have seen other films of his but think Roma might be his Tarkovsky dream. One of the most important films I ever saw was Tarkovsky speaking to the camera about his inner life. Every word of his was a gem-even his silence was pure poetry. His father was a very great poet and so was he, in film. An image is an impression of the Truth, which God has allowed us to glimpse with our Sightless eyes. At one point he is asked about young people and his advice to them: SOLITUDE! And he died in 1986 and had no idea what would come. How, even the very word itself, ignites terror.

Roma's narrative was so strongly supported visually that it was really a wonderfully silent film.

Any director who eschews blockbusters for original, meaningful storytelling is an artist in my book. Viva Cuaron! The same goes for Inarritu -- the rare filmmaker who leaves me asking "How did he do that?" Someone needs to inform our president that Mexico is, in fact, sending its best.

Thank you for this beautiful profile of a magic director. I saw ROMA a few days ago, and simply cannot get it out of my mind. It is one of the most beautiful but thought provoking films I have seen in many years. To now read Cuarón's words is to understand the complex issues he faced in all stages of his life. And to understand the genesis of this masterpiece. Thank you again NYT. A beautiful piece.

Wonderful, and not simply.

Fantastic look into the mind and work of one of the greatest directors of all-time. As to Roma, I couldn’t stop thinking about the minority/immigrant women who raise the kids of many affluent folks - many reading this newspaper now. Just because the film is shot in México, it doesn’t mean these characters don’t live here, among us.