This is certainly a marker to show just how much of a juggernaut streaming services have become. If you had said even five years ago that a Netflix original film would be nominated for 10 Academy awards, no one would have believed you.Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is a young woman working as a maid for a rich family in Mexico City in the early 1970s. She gets knocked up only to find that her baby daddy (Jorge Antonio Guerrero) wants nothing to do with her, while Mrs. Sofi (Marina de Tavira), the lady of the house, is also facing some difficulties because her husband (Fernando Grediaga) has decided to have a midlife crisis and leave her with three kids and no explanations during a time of civil unrest.
This felt like watching two separate stories intertwine, which is in no respect a dig. Both of these characters, Cleo and Sofi, deal with problems, adapt, and react to the world around them in ways that feel organic and realistic. Alfonso Cuarón has made it very clear in interviews that this is very autobiographical for him and has faithfully and lovingly brought his childhood to life. He has managed to create representations of two different but equally strong women and it is beautiful to behold.
It's an incredible film from top to bottom. Every detail is period-specific, the cinematography is absurdly crisp with the most incredible play of light I have seen since Mad Max: Fury Road. If it wins for nothing else, it should get cinematography. Everyone else can just go home (she said, having only seen two of the nominees in the category.) This is the only movie that I wished I had thought to live-tweet. There were so many moments I wanted to share.
Like, did he really put in a scene just to make fun of his own previous Oscar winner, Gravity? How many other Easter eggs are in there? Is there a Harry Potter wand floating around that I missed? Conveniently, it is on Netflix so when you check it out, look for these things and then come tell me.
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