"Roma" is a movie made for a certain audience. For viewers who love art films, geek out over cinematography, art direction, and minute details, it's a godsend and a masterpiece. For viewers who want action and story that moves, they can give this one a hard pass.
To say certain parts are dull would qualify as a massive understatement. Most scenes are puzzlingly dull. I say puzzling because you might find yourself wondering if you missed something during that 20-minute stretch of nothingness. I can assure you that you did not.
The entire film contains two worth-watching scenes and 100+ minutes of emptiness.
The film constantly lingers on shots for so long you'll begin to wonder if the wonder if the camera operator fell asleep. Then the next shot usually consists of something similar, as the camera holds for an unnecessarily long time once again.
Other choices in the film are flat out bizarre. A naked sword display partway into the story serves no apparent purpose other than to encourage many Netflix viewers to stop watching and start streaming something else.
Other times the camera fixates on closeups of dog poop. For a really long time. And then we see more dog poop. I really tried to understand the purpose of these shots, but I have no answer.
To the film's credit, the two worth-watching scenes I mentioned earlier are both truly remarkable. They give director Alfonso Cuaron a chance to flex his filmmaking muscles. He masterfully makes use of long scenes with no cuts, which gives viewers no chance to breath and really makes it feel like we are there, present in the moment.
But two great scenes don't make a great movie. The boredom overwhelms the snippets of brilliance, yielding a dull final product.
If hardcore art films are your thing, give this one a try. If not, spare yourself from hours of boredom and the horrifying naked sword display scene.
To say certain parts are dull would qualify as a massive understatement. Most scenes are puzzlingly dull. I say puzzling because you might find yourself wondering if you missed something during that 20-minute stretch of nothingness. I can assure you that you did not.
The entire film contains two worth-watching scenes and 100+ minutes of emptiness.
The film constantly lingers on shots for so long you'll begin to wonder if the wonder if the camera operator fell asleep. Then the next shot usually consists of something similar, as the camera holds for an unnecessarily long time once again.
Other choices in the film are flat out bizarre. A naked sword display partway into the story serves no apparent purpose other than to encourage many Netflix viewers to stop watching and start streaming something else.
Other times the camera fixates on closeups of dog poop. For a really long time. And then we see more dog poop. I really tried to understand the purpose of these shots, but I have no answer.
To the film's credit, the two worth-watching scenes I mentioned earlier are both truly remarkable. They give director Alfonso Cuaron a chance to flex his filmmaking muscles. He masterfully makes use of long scenes with no cuts, which gives viewers no chance to breath and really makes it feel like we are there, present in the moment.
But two great scenes don't make a great movie. The boredom overwhelms the snippets of brilliance, yielding a dull final product.
If hardcore art films are your thing, give this one a try. If not, spare yourself from hours of boredom and the horrifying naked sword display scene.