Roma is a piece of cinema rather than a movie. Perhaps it is even film (not a film). It definitely feels like you are witnessing something significant while you are watching it – even for some time after it ends. I’m not yet 100% sure whether it actually is something significant, but either way I liked it a lot.
There is no discernible plot, just a fairly arbitrary string of happenings, absurd motifs and muddled up emotions. Much like life. That’s probably what gives it its raw, fly-on-the-wall, almost documentary feeling. And that feeling of significance.
There is also a strong sense that you are gaining some small insight of a people’s history of Mexico, in parallel with the more personal human drama. Probably the fact that the whole thing is shot in black and white helps cultivate that feeling.
All in all, this is pretty much a must see, I think.