This is an atmospheric movie. The director shot the film himself, so he clearly wanted it this way. The film rarely uses
close-ups, keeping us at a distance from Cleo (masterfully acted by Yalitza Aparicio), the maid in an upper class Mexican household in 1970, and his other characters,
and allowing the details of the world around them to come to life. He uses the long shot most frequently, often placing Cleo in a tableau that could be
called chaotic, whether it’s a market teeming with people behind her or
even just the home in which she spends so much of her time, full of
noisy children, relatives, and servants. Cleo’s existence is a crowded
one, and it almost feels like it gets more so as the film goes along,
mirroring her increasing concern as her life becomes more complicated.
The story is one of class differences, cultural differences, differences between the city and the countryside, all wrapped up into one very neatly told story that doesn't raise anyone's defensiveness as to their place in the world. It is quietly brilliant.
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