The Film Roma Analysis
Humanities
The exam will consist of:
Two 2 brief (3-5 paragraph) essays on Chungking Expressand Roma.
ESSAY QUESTIONS:
Below, I have provided you with the essay questions, so that you may develop your answers around specific scenes from the films. Even though I have provided you with the questions, you will not be allowed to bring notes into the exam! I would like you to write your essays, in-class, as you would for any essay exam.
Roma
Pretend that you are the Film Reviewer for a prominent entertainment news outfit, such as Varietyor Entertainment Weekly. With the Oscars a few weeks away, your editor has assigned you to write a think-piece onRoma, the Mexican film by Alfonso Cuaron, that has been nominated for 10 Oscars this year, and has a real shot at being the first foreign language film to win Best Picture.
Your editor has asked you to write an essay reflecting upon this possibility. Do you think the film shouldwin? Why?
In order to answer this question, you will not only have to provide an original analysis of the film itself, but you will need to think about it in relation to other classic films and traditions of World Cinema. For instance, many critics have argued that Cuaron’s film captures a sense of realismreminiscent of the Italian Neorealists. Others have argued that the stylized beauty of his images are reminiscent of the reflexive, auteurist cinema of the French New Wave. Meanwhile, the detailed attention Cuaron gives to the framing andbackgroundof his shots – creating intricate spaces through which his characters move into and out of – may remind you of the way that Ozu utilized shot composition. And, of course, the themes of class structure and ethnic identity at the heart of the film’s story may remind you of the political cinema of Ousame Sembene.
In your analysis of Roma, please be sure to reference at leasttwo scenes from the film, specifically, to provide illustrative support for your claims..
