After sending us hurtling through space with Sandra Bullock in Gravity five years ago, Alfonso Cuaron is bringing us back down to Earth with his latest. Roma has always been described by Cuaron as his most personal, most “essential” film, and now we get to see what that means to him in this new trailer.
Based on Cuaron’s memories of growing up in 1970s Mexico City, the story centers on domestic workers Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) and Adela (Nancy García García), who go through a year of life-changing events while helping to keep the middle-class family they work for together. While their employer Sofia (Marina de Tavira) copes with her husband’s extended absence, the three women must “construct a new sense of love and solidarity” while Mexico prepares for a confrontation between the government militia and student activists.
Adding to the project’s personal nature, this will be the first time Cuaron will handle the cinematography himself. Talking with IndieWire, the director said, “Ninety percent of the scenes represented in the film are scenes taken out of my memory. Sometimes directly, sometimes a bit more obliquely. It’s about a moment of time that shaped me, but also a moment of time that shaped a country. It was the beginning of a long transition in Mexico.”
Netflix will release Roma later this year and it will play at the Venice, Toronto, Telluride, and New York film festivals.
