Alfonso Cuaron is a filmmaker known for accomplishing some pretty crazy visuals in his films. And you can probably thank cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezski for that. The Oscar-winning Director of Photography has been a mainstay in the Cuaron filmography since the mid-’90s. However, the Lubezski name isn’t attached to the latest film, “Roma,” which is perhaps the filmmaker’s most visually ambitious film to date. And in a new interview, Cuaron explains why.
Describing the visual style of “Roma” is quite difficult. The film, which is a semi-autobiographical story, is set in 1971 Mexico City, entirely in Black and White. “Roma” features long takes, wide angles, and detail for days. It’s a visual feast that will require multiple viewings just to properly appreciate. And if you didn’t pay attention to the credits before the film, you would assume that Lubezski was all over it. But you’d be wrong.
Speaking on the “Director’s Cut” podcast, Cuaron explains why Lubezski wasn’t the DP for “Roma” and why the filmmaker ultimately decided to shoot his own film.
“Chivo [Lubezski] started prepping [‘Roma’], and I actually planned this film for Chivo. I budgeted this film for Chivo’s thinking. With Chivo, there’s always the same concern and complaint—well, he has many complaints (laughs). The biggest thing since we started making films together when we were teenagers was time. Time to do things. Time to prep the film, time to shoot the film, time to do the Digital Intermediate at the end of the process, he’s always asking for more time,” explained Cuaron.
He continued, “So I designed it for Chivo. The byproduct of that is that we started prepping and I start realizing, ‘No we need more prep time.’ We start looking for locations and I said, ‘We need more shooting time,’ and we kept extending everything until Chivo said, ‘I cannot do this film anymore, I have other commitments’. And that was maybe two and a half weeks before we started shooting.”
So, sadly (or perhaps fortuitously), Lubezski wasn’t available to shoot the film because of the intense pre-production timetable that Cuaron had set up for the film. And even though the cinematographer would have probably done a great job with the material, there’s something fitting about Cuaron taking the camera himself for this incredibly personal story.
And it wasn’t much of a stretch for the director to be his own DP. He explains, “I started as a DP in film school and then when I was in TV I did a lot of DP’ing, even on my own shows. I’ve never done a whole feature film, but after the first three days I was uncomfortable with my role. I was used to delegating. I don’t talk to the gaffer, I respect that’s Chivo’s thing. Now I have to talk to the gaffer. But then after that I had a blast, for me it was easy. The problem was the crew had two Alfonsos… Both were Mr. Hyde.”
“Roma” will hit select theaters on November 21 (and you really, REALLY should seek it out if you want the full experience) before hitting Netflix on December 14.