Roma (2018) ****

It took a while to get motivated to watch “Roma,” even though it's been streaming on Netflix for weeks. The black-and-white, Spanish language Oscar-bait has been described as director Alfonso Cuaron's love letter to Mexico City, and touted for telling the story of a maid/nanny, an “indigenous woman who is usually in the background.” Sounds like a real snooze-fest, right? Well, truth be told, the movie does start out pretty slow, but you gotta ride it out, because it's actually really good.

We meet Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio), a maid for a moderately-wealthy doctor and his family. She cleans and looks after the kids and gossips with her co-worker, Adela (Nancy Garcia Garcia), the cook. It's hard to guess these girls' ages, but they are probably only around 20 years old. They are loved by the family's four children, but for the parents, they mostly exist in the background of family life.

That's the point Cuaron is trying to make in “Roma.” Here, the focus is on Cleo's life, and the doctor and his wife, Sofia (Marina de Tavira), are in the background of her life. While their upper-middle-class marriage is falling apart, Cleo is lovingly raising their kids and spending her free time dating shifty guys from the slums. I don't want to give away any more of what little plot there is. There isn't some sinister plot or big twist. This is really just a slice-of-life kind of story. It's a tale of two seemingly very different women (Sofia and Cleo) pulling themselves through adversity and supporting each other. The strength is not in the minimal plot, but in the incredibly natural performances of the actresses.

Roger Ebert once said that movies are “a machine for generating empathy,” and “Roma” does just that. It allows us to really experience Cleo's life, including the love she has for Sofia's kids, and the love they return to her. (Alfonso Cuaron was raised by a nanny like Cleo, which he gives as a reason for wanting to tell this story.) Star Yalitza Aparicio had no prior acting experience. Her job is admittedly made easier by the fact that, as an indigenous woman, Cleo is naturally rather stoic and unexpressive. All the more remarkable, then, that she is able to make us feel so much. Marina de Tavira is also excellent as a wife picking herself up after being abandoned by her feckless husband.

Cuaron uses black-&-white film to stunning effect in “Roma.” The film doesn't take us to majestic vistas, but the cinematography makes ordinary places look stunning. An especially beautiful scene involves Sofia's extended family fighting a wildfire in the countryside.

“Roma” is not for everyone. It's an artsy, slowly-paced, foreign language film. If you dig this kind of thing, though, you will not want to let this film slip past you.

4 stars out of 5