Guillermo del Toro Shares 10 Personal Observations About ‘Roma’
“Roma” has been the most prized drama of the 2018-19 awards season so far, winning Best Picture honors from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the Critics’ Choice Awards, but no one is a bigger or more vocal “Roma” fan than Guillermo del Toro. The “Pan’s Labyrinth” director was the president of the Venice Film Festival jury that awarded “Roma” the Golden Lion last year, and del Toro has since called the Alfonso Cuarón drama one of his top five favorite movies of all time on numerous occasions.
After “Roma” took home major prizes at the Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Director, del Toro took to his Twitter page to elaborate on why “Roma” has become such a cinematic milestone for him. Del Toro launched a Twitter thread sharing 10 personal observations about “Roma,” including thoughts on the film’s bookending shots and a defense of main character Cleo’s silence throughout much of the movie, which has led some critics to take issue with the film for her passivity.
Read More:Guillermo del Toro Reveals 17 Completed Scripts Never Turned Into Films
“In my view, Cleo’s ‘silence’ is used as a tool for her dramatic arch,” del Toro writes. “It leads to her most intimate pain being revealed, by water – again – after the Ocean rescue: ‘I didn’t want her to be born.’ Cleo surpasses and holds her emotions in silence until they finally pour out.”
Additionally, del Toro shares his thoughts that “Roma” is not a subjective character study but a living tableau about a person, time, and place. “In every sense, ‘Roma’ is a Fresco, a Mural, not a portrait,” he said. “Not only the way it is lensed but the way it ‘scrolls’ with long lateral dollies. The audio visual information (context, social unrest, factions & politics / morals of the time) exists within the frame to be read.”
“Roma” is now streaming on Netflix and playing in select theaters across the country. Read del Toro’s full list of personal “Roma” observations below.
Related stories
Critics' Choice Winners 'Roma,' 'Vice,' and 'A Star Is Born' Advance in Oscar Race
Alfonso Cuarón and More Upset Netflix Offers 'Roma' Subtitles in Spain: 'It's Very Offensive'
Solve the daily Crossword
