Roma (2018) Is the Pick of the Week

When Green Book won the Oscar for best picture, it immediately became a controversy, simply because it was a rather terrible pick, and also a safe choice. It felt more like a conventional Oscar-bait movie more than anything. The Academy really screwed up there, because Alfonso Cuaron’s 2018 masterwork, Roma, should have been the choice. Not only was it arguably the best film of that year, but it was one of the best films of 2010s.

Cuaron really hit his stride with his sharply moving depiction of not only its central family, but also Mexico at a certain time and place. More than just a Netflix film, it’s a celebration of a certain craft of moviemaking and a bold feat of character, dialogue, and striking imagery, that all adds up to a modern masterpiece that should and will be remembered for many generations to come.

To be honest, I was surprised when Roma (a recent film) was going to be released by Criterion. But obviously, I’m definitely glad that it is. Not only is the cover absolutely splendid, but the supplements also sound amazing. They include a new making-of documentary with an interview with Cuaron; new documentary featuring actors Yalitza Aparicio and Marina de Tavira, producers Gabriela Rodríguez and Nicolás Celis, and more; new documentaries about the film’s sound and post-production process; new documentary about the film’s theatrical campaign and social impact, and trailers. It also comes in a digipack with new essays by novelist Valeria Luiselli and historian Enrique Krauze, and more. This should definitely be an incredible addition to every film lover’s collection. I’m surely looking forward to it as well.

Other releases:

My Bloody Valentine (1981): Scream Factory releases this superior 1981 cult slasher about a murderous miner’s reign of terror/killing spree in a sleepy Canadian town.

Ford v Ferrari: Based on a true story of car designer Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles as they battle corporate influence, physics, and their own personal issues to create a race car at Le Mans in 1966.

First Love: A new Takashi Miike bloodfest about a young boxer and call girl who get involved in a drug scheme over the span of a very dangerous night in Tokyo.

A Little Romance: A delightfully underrated tale of starring a young Diane Lane as an American girl who starts a romance with an adorable French boy while attending school in Paris.

In Fabric: A creepy ghost story about a cursed dress that causes grisly and disastrous consequences for anyone who comes across it.