History Film / Roma

It is set in Mexico City in 1970-71, and is is a semi-autobiographical take on Cuarón's upbringing. (In fact, the house in the movie is located directly across the street from the house where Cuaron grew up.) The protagonist is Cleodegaria Gutierrez, the live-in maid for an upper-middle class family. She works for Sofia and Antonio, parents of four children, and Antonio's mother Teresa. It eventually becomes clear that Antonio and Sofia's marriage is strained, and Antonio is seizing multiple opportunities to be away from home. Meanwhile, Cleo is dating Fermín, an aspiring martial artist.

** Servants aren’t family by blood, and there’s still an economic motivator, but the work they put in raising the family can make them very much like it themselves.

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Fermín, the father of Cleo's baby, is a participant in the Corpus Christi massacre.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Antonio has abandoned the family for his mistress and Cleo has suffered through Fermín's abandonment and their child's stillbirth, but Cleo, Sofia, and the rest are still strong together. Sofia is going to work, and Cleo is still an important person to the family.]]

** While definitely not as bad, Antonio also isn't that likable either. He cheats on his wife and eventually moves in with his mistress without telling his children himself, cowardly leaving the burden of telling them onto Sofia.

* LawOfInverseFertility: Cleo was a virgin before she met Fermín and barely had any sexual activity before becoming pregnant. [[spoiler:And she didn't want the baby, either, especially when it's revealed how terrible of a person Fermín is.]]

* PeriodPiece: The film is one for Mexico City from 1970-71, which was also when and where the director grew up. The characters watch a movie that came out in that time (Marooned), drive cars appropriate to the era, and facing the political upheavals of the era. It’s a more subdued example than most, though.

* TokenWhite: Sofia's sister-in-law is an American, she and her young son are the only characters who speak in English during the film.
* TragicStillbirth: Subverted. [[spoiler:Cleo's baby is born dead, and while she's obviously overcome by this for the rest of the film, it's revealed after the ocean rescue that the brunt of her grief is from not having wanted the baby.]]

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: When the massacre begins outside the store, and gunmen come charging in to pursue a fleeing couple, the camera keeps circling slowly to reveal the gunman aiming at Cleo is Fermín.]]

It is set in Mexico City in 1970-71, and is is a semi-autobiographical take on Cuarón's upbringing. (In fact, the house in the movie is located directly across the street from the house where Cuaron grew up.) The protagonist is Cleodegaria Gutierrez, the live-in maid for an upper-middle class family. She works for Sofia and Antonio, parents of four children, and Antonio's mother Teresa. It eventually becomes clear that Antonio and Sofia's marriage is strained, and Antonio is seizing multiple opportunities to be away from home. Meanwhile, Cleo is dating Fermin, an aspiring martial artist.

* BirthDeathJuxtaposition: During the Corpus Christis massacre, Cleo watched the murder of a young man in a furniture store. Immediately, her water breaks. [[spoiler:Subverted as her daughter is stillborn.]]

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Antonio has abandoned the family for his mistress, and Cleo has suffered through her own abandonment and stillbirth, but Cleo, Sofia, and the rest are still strong together. Sofia is going to work, and Cleo is still an important person to the family.]]

** The lone Yankee lady is the only woman wearing pants. The Mexican women- regardless of ancestry- are wearing skirts or dresses in the same scene.
* DirtyCoward: Sofia's outraged because, not only is Antonio cheating on her and living with his mistress, he doesn't even have the guts to tell their children himself. When Cleo is in labor Antonio tries to comfort her, but is quick to leave when presented the chance, happy to be free from any of his past life.

* JerkAss: Fermín. He abandons Cleo after learning she's pregnant, refuses to see her, and when she finally manages to track him down he refuses to acknowledge the baby as his and threatens her with violence against ever looking for him again. [[spoiler:The next (and last) time we see him, he's participating in the Corpus Christi massacre... as one of the murderers.]]

* {{Maid}}: The protagonist here is Cleo, a maid for a middle-class family, a common familial staple at the time.

* NiceToTheWaiter: The children all love Cleo and treat her like family, a mutual feeling. Sofia also treats her well, but her occasional snaps and outburst (an understandable product of her stress over her husband's infidelity) remind the viewer that Cleo is ''not'' family. Despite this, Sofia affirms at the end how much the family loves and needs her.

* ThePreciousPreciousCar: Antonio has a nice Ford Galaxie that takes him forever to park carefully in the narrow space at home as his children wait to greet him. When it's clear he's left the family, Sofia accidentally gouges it up between two trucks before clumsily and drunkenly parking it in the garage. She ends up trading it for a narrower car that, symbolically, fits perfectly into the home.

** The beachside bar where [[spoiler:Sofia tells her kids that Antonio has left them]] looks nearly identical to the bar near the end of ''Film/YTuMamaTambien''

* WeddingRingRemoval: We don't see it removed, but in one scene as Cleo is going through laundry, she finds Antonio's wedding ring in a drawer.
* WhamShot: [[spoiler: When the massacre begins outside the store, and gunmen come charging in to pursue a fleeing couple, the camera keeps circling slowly to reveal the gunman aiming at Cleo is Fermin.]]

* AdultFear:
** Sofia warns her children not to go too far out into the ocean when she leaves to check on the car, as Cleo can't swim. [[spoiler:Within seconds of her leaving, Cleo realizes that the current has pulled them out too far, and she's forced to go in to rescue them.]]
** [[spoiler: Cleo's baby is stillborn.]]

** [[spoiler: Cleo's baby is stillborn.]]

* WhamShot: [[spoiler: When the massacre begins outside the store, and gunmen come charging in to pursue a fleeing couple, the camera keeps circling slowly to reveal the gunman aiming at Cleo [[FaceHeelTurn is Fermin]].]]

* YourCheatingHeart: Antonio is living with his mistress, something Sofia covers up by claiming he's away for work. Paco eventually finds out the truth when he spots his father with his mistress on a city street.

* BaitTheDog: Fermín has a very eccentric establishing scene, where he practices his martial arts in front of Cleo while naked. The way he talks about his past and the poverty he grew up in makes one feel sorry for him. As the film goes on he's shown to be selfish, unempathetic, and much more violent than he first let on. He abandons Cleo when she gets pregnant with his child, threatens her, and has no sympathy. [[spoiler:He also ends up violently suppressing protestors at the Massacre]].

* NeverMessWithGranny: While Cleo shops for a crib with the family's grandmother, the store associate tries to sell one to them at full price. The grandmother, who has so far been fairly placid, firmly snaps that they expect a discount, as the family has been longtime customers. When the violence spills into the store, she stands protectively in front of Cleo.

* BeenThereShapedHistory: Fermín , the father of Cleo's baby, is a participant in the Corpus Christi massacre.

* BaitTheDog: Fermín has a very eccentric establishing scene, where he practices his martial arts in front of Cleo while naked. The way he talks about his past and the poverty he grew up in makes one feel sorry for him. As the film goes on he's shown to be selfish, unempathetic, and much more violent than he first let on. He abandons Cleo when she gets pregnant with his child, threatens her, and has no sympathy. [[spoiler:He also ends up violently supressing protestors at the Massacre]].

* NeverMessWithGranny: While Cleo shops for a crib with the family's grandmother, the store associate tries to sell one to them at full price. The grandmother, who has so far been fairly placid, firmly snaps that they expect a discount, as the family have been longtime customers. When the violence spills into the store, she stands protectively in front of Cleo.

* YourCheatingHeart: Antonio is living with his mistress, something Sofia covers up by claiming he's away for work. Paco eventually finds out the truth when he spots his father with his mistress on a city street.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: Antonio always comes across as a man who enjoys life and likes having a good time. He's happy when he's with his kids... and even happier with his mistress whom he gladly abandons his children for. Sofia says to the kids that he still loves them, but he never regrets his decision and only comes back for his books. When Cleo is in labor Antonio tries to comfort her, but is quick to leave when presented the chance, happy to be free from any of his past life.

* DirtyCoward: Sofia's outraged because, not only is Antonio cheating on her and living with his mistress, he doesn't even have the guts to tell their children himself.

* NeverMessWithGranny: While Cleo shops for a crib with the family's grandmother, the store associate tries to sell one to them at full price. The grandmother, who has so far been fairly placid, firmly snaps that they expect a discount, as the family have been longtime customers.

* JerkAss: Fermín. He abandons Cleo after learning she's pregnant, refuses to see her, and when she finally manages to track him down he refuses to acknowledge the baby as his and threatens her against ever looking for him again. [[spoiler:The next (and last) time we see him, he's participating in the Corpus Christi massacre... as one of the murderers.]]