Roma, a 2018 Netflix film written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is wonderful. It’s a story of an upper middle class household in Mexico City in the early 1970’s, and Cleo, the young woman who works for them as maid and nanny (one of several household employees).
It’s more “a day in the life” (or many days) than a plot driven film, though during its course the head of household husband/father leaves, the wife struggles with the aftermath, Cleo gets pregnant, and there are student riots and attacks on them by a quasi-government militia!
The film though is about the relationships within the family; the class and race issues (all the servants, e.g., have clearly Indian features and the wealthy do not), and the tension in Cleo being both a loved and valued member of the family – she is not thrown out after getting pregnant – and a household servant. There are no real villains, though lots of human actions with consequences, and it’s a family for which one might want to work if one had to! The acting is first rate, and the black and white photography magnificent.
Above all, it seems to capture the specificity of a particular time and setting, while making it universally relevant. Cuarón describes the film as semi-autobiographical of his own childhood.
See it – it’s both on Netflixand in theatres.