Roma: Reparation versus Exploitation

Sergio de la Mora reviews Roma's reception in Mexico and reflects upon the film's intimate relationship with the nation's political history. Situating Roma with the broader trend in Latin American cinema for films that explore servant-employer relations, he examines how Roma visualizes the ways in which Indigenous domestic and intimate labor has been historically racialized and gendered in Mexico. He discusses the controversy surrounding Cleo's voice and agency in the film along with the aesthetic debates prompted by Cuarón's decision to film in black and white.