Roma (2018)

Set in Mexico City in 1970, a young maid (Yalitza Aparicio) works in the home of a doctor (Fernando Grediaga), his wife (Marina De Tavira) and their four children. The marriage is clearly strained but soon the maid will have her own crisis to deal with. Written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron (GRAVITY), this slice of life unfolds at a leisurely pace, perhaps too leisurely at times (a scene parking a car seems to go on forever) but the film is deceptively simple. Beautifully shot in B&W by Cuaron, the film is a series of moments that when compiled provide us with a stunning tableau of a brief moment in time and travails of a woman's (actually, two women if you count the wife) growth into her own skin. The contrast between the privileged life of the wife and the poor working class life of the maid is highlighted yet they bond in their sisterhood when they realize that they can't depend on men to define their lives. Aparicio gives a marvelous performance which seems even more awesome when you discover she's never acted before! The film has already been hailed as a masterpiece. I don't know if it is but there's greatness in it. With Jorge Antonio and Nancy Garcia.