Cleo is the “buddhist monk” that film critic, Brody, has deemed her to be, but failed his assertion when he remarked that it was her voice, and her significance to Cuarón’s personal life story that was missing from the film. Cleo’s voice is in her presence. She carries the weight of her past history from Oaxaca, to tend to a family, so she can live in a city, and then has to deal with the upcoming events that would soon follow in a downward spiral. Her silence evokes her reaction to the turmoil that she is faced as she continues down the path of giving birth to her first child, from her first sexual encounter, only to be met with an absent lover, and a stillborn fetus, not to mention that the actress herself (Yalitza Aparicio) also lived through this time in 1970 to 1971. To critique Cleo for not saying much, is like asking why the countryside is quieter than the city; it’s because of its surroundings.
Having filmed the movie from ninety percent memory, with almost no scripting, Cuarón resists the memory that still haunts Mexico, where political revolution took place, and he, himself, although ignorant to the global situation, found himself fighting the family upheaval that faced him during those times. It is mentioned that Cuarón’s Roma, has more to say in its symbolism, than it does in its dialogue. The first instance in which we are faced with symbolism is with the use of airplanes, where we seem them representing the global standpoint of how only Mexico is being faced with this circumstance, and the rest of the world is still moving regularly. Reflecting upon this starting point for the film, it increases the context in which the opening scene depicts a plane’s reflection in the mop water that Cleo uses to clean the patio driveway alley. In reference to Cleo’s personal story, it can represent the emotional journey she is about to experience over the course of the next year, or even the literal depiction of her going from scene to scene, where we can recount her in the patron’s house, their uncle’s house, the poorer neighborhood of Ramón and Fermín, and the streets surrounding La Roma (the neighborhood in Mexico City). A thread associated with airplanes is traveling, especially from point A to point B, and Cleo is first seen in a city, and ends up at a beach for a recluse moment of clarity. It is at the end of one’s journey, that they find themselves more self-aware of their recent history.
Towards the middle of the film, it is foreshadowed from Cleo that Fermín (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) was planning to abandon her at the movie theater, when she looks back after a mere minute or two, because she instinctively knows why he made that excuse, and that is reinforced by the movie literally ending a few minutes later, when he could have easily waited. Following the movie scene, the establishing shot for her return back to the patron’s house, it is pouring rain, and although, Cleo is stoic (for most of the movie), it is the weather and landscape that drives her emotional expressions (with the exception of her sitting in the chair after her trip to the hospital). It is seen once again when she tracks down Fermín in the pueblo where he is receiving martial arts training, and although it is obviously meant to describe the poor nature of its citizens, it also commits to the dry spell between these two characters. Moments before their interaction, the sensei demonstrates his ability to balance on one leg while blindfolded, and the camera switches to Cleo as the center figure amongst a group of onlookers attempting the same trick, but Cleo is the only one that’s successful. I believe this calls to her emotional balance, where she is at peace when approaching Fermín, and is not there to scold or get her revenge, but seek clarification for his actions. When Fermín reacts to her with disgust and disregard, we sympathize more with Cleo, not only for his treatment towards her, but the intentions she had going into the conversation. It speaks to her character’s moral judgment, even when it could have easily been argued for her to explode orally towards him. The stoic trait of Cleo is only diminished when the protest turns violent when she is shopping for a crib, and it questions whether her watering breaking was mere coincidence, or if the stress level she was experiencing, is what induced labor. Having to conquer the obstacle of getting out of chaos, in addition to driving to a hospital, where many wounded would arrive, only made this a deeper hardship, and just when we think Cleo will receive a break from the downfall of everything going on, her baby is born stillborn. I believe this moment and the beach scene after she saves the kids from drowning, are the two reflective moments in the film where it provides a pause for Cleo to consume her tragedies, before continuing. The stress of the protest and having her water break simultaneously could have been to bolster the significance of the Corpus Christi massacre. It was at a time where Mexico and the US joined forces, forming the paramilitary troops, who took up arms to challenge those who rose against them, and it resulted in the killing of about 120 protestors. It was said that during this time, the Mexican government were willing to “protect the lives of some by justifying the deaths of others,” and it was documented that women, particularly women like Cleo, who were vulnerable to being apart of those who got killed. Her presence in that scene, when Fermín points the gun at her, solidifies that fact.
In correlation with the political war, social constructs were being displaced amongst the film as an engaging war of indigenous people versus “whitexicans.” The social status that lays on the surface of the film such as, the relationship of patron and servant, the landscape of upper middle class lifestyles contrasted against poor neighborhoods and pueblos, and the class system presented at the New Year’s party, where Cleo is separated from the rest of the family, to join in the activities of those below their level, are multiplied through the symbolism of fluids. Water is the main source of explanation, where we can see landscapes of water used for “leisure,” and a separate scene that depicts its scarcity, to explain the social class system division, and to stress the governmental justification of its priorities. Water is also used to symbolize purification from trauma which is shown both after Cleo losses her baby, and at the end of movie when she is treading water to save the kids. Semen is utilized to separate the gender roles, sympathizing and empowering the female role, and criticizing the male gender as being negligent and emotionally and physically absent in the movie. We can see this through the Doctor Antonio’s (Fernando Greediaga) Ford Galaxy vehicle, where it is first displayed as being his prized possession as he squeezes it perfectly into the side alley, and then by the time of the separation between him and Sofia (Marina de Tavira), it is being hit from both sides as she only has hurt for their relationship. It then concludes their relationship, with it being sold and replaced by a new car to represent the new beginning for both her and Cleo, from both having to face dramatic hardships in the past year.
Roma is a movie about a woman whose reactions are spoken from the Earth, and is then internalized for processing. It goes beyond the already discussed, family upheaval, socio-political drama, and abandonment, and answers the question of how to react to chaos when it is all you can perceive. Chaos surrounds Cleo, whether its the busy streets outside the movie theater and shopping centers, the journey to find Fermín, taking care of all the children, or the internal struggles that she fights to answer her own life questions, it is a acknowledgement of strength and endurance. That is Cleo. A strong stoic buddhist monk that accepts her challenges, and deals with them one at a time.
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