Alfonso Cuarón is a celebrated auteur of today and probably the most famous Mexican director ever, while he is also a very talented screenwriter and cinematographer. He was the first Latin American to be nominated for Best Director at the Academy Awards; he has been nominated for ten Academy Awards for films like Gravity and Children Of Men and has won four.
He has directed and written both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking films, but he was beloved long before he started making more internationally-oriented movies. Roma definitely renewed his world acclaim, while returning him to his roots of Mexico City. This list explores his ten best films according to Rotten Tomatoes (ties were settled by number of critics' ratings).
Sólo Con Tu Pareja / Only With Your Partner (1991) - 67%
This was the film that marked Cuarón’s transition from television to movies, being his first feature film. He collaborated with his brother Carlos for the script and received funding from the Mexican government. Interestingly, even though the movie was an exclusively Mexican production, it was not distributed (or shown at all) in Mexico until two years after its international release. The film follows Tomás, a womanizer whose various erotic endeavors lead to a chaotic life when a nurse who has fallen for him lies to him that his blood tests showed he has AIDS. This leads him to re-evaluate his life.
Black Sun (2005) - 75%
Cuarón served as executive producer for this documentary by British filmmaker Gary Tarn (with whom he has collaborated a few times). This movie was shown for the first time at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2005. Gary Tarn walks viewers through the narrative of Hugues de Montalembert, an artist and director from New York who was left blind by a brutal, motiveless assault.
Following the incident, Montalembert figured out how to survive and live life in a fresh way, looking to transform everyday things into extraordinary experiences. Challenging people’s expectations, this astonishing artist carried on exploring the globe alone, discovering how to steer life in a glorious way.
Paris, Je T'Aime / Paris, I Love You (2006) - 87%
This anthology film is comprised of 18 short films, each one representing a different arrondissement of Paris (there were initially 20, but two could not be integrated). 22 directors were involved in this production, amongst them, of course, Cuarón. His segment was called “Parc Monceau” and was linked to the 17th arrondissement. An elder man and younger lady encounter for a plan that a third individual ("Gaspard"), who is dear to the girl, will probably not be content about. It is ultimately discovered that the old man is her father and Gaspard is his grandchild, her child.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) - 90%
There must be not one person in the world who is unfamiliar with this ground-breaking British franchise by now. Cuarón was the second to direct a Harry Potter film (after Chris Columbus) and his introduction marked a significant tonal change for the films that became much more adult targeted than before.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe as the eponymous hero, the third installment tells of Harry learning a lot more truths about his family’s past, due to the escape of a supposedly dangerous prisoner from Azkaban, the notorious Sirius Black – who also happens to be Harry’s godfather.
Y Tu Mamá También / And Your Mom Too (2001) - 92%
This is the second collaboration of Alfonso with his brother Carlos for a screenplay. This road film mixed elements of drama and comedy with some explicit sexual scenes. It tells the story of Julio and Tenoch, two teenage boys and best friends who embark on a road trip with Luisa, a woman in her late twenties and wife of Julio’s cousin. During the trip, secrets and hidden tensions come to light as the boys realize that they have often been dishonest with each other and Luisa realizes that her marriage has run its course. This was No. 20 in Empire magazine's “100 Best Films Of World Cinema” list.
Children Of Men (2006) - 92%
This is not only one of this filmmaker’s masterpieces, but also one of the best dystopic films ever made and a modern sci-fi masterwork. Based on the homonymous novel by P. D. James, this movie transports audiences to a world where the global economy has collapsed due to devastating infertility that has brought humankind to its knees.
The UK is the only country with a functioning government where immigrants are desperate to get. Clive Owen plays Theo Faron, a disillusioned public servant who must help a refugee girl that may hold the key to the world’s salvation.
Pan's Labyrinth / El Laberinto Del Fauno (2006) - 95%
Cuarón served as executive producer here, but the elements of his style are still apparent. This dark fantasy film was written and directed by another brilliant Mexican director, Guillermo del Toro. Taking place during the aftershocks of the Spanish Civil War, this movie describes the outlandish expeditions of an inventive young girl who may be the fabled princess of a concealed realm.
Ten-year-old Ofelia, desperate to escape the suffocating reality of her everyday life, discovers the labyrinth created thousands of years before by the Faun – known in other religions as the Great God Pan. Rotten Tomatoes calls this movie the “Alice in Wonderland for grown-ups” and praises it for its smart and dark mixing of fantasy and realism.
Roma (2018) - 95%
This film is unique in many ways: one of the most brilliant examples of a modern black and white cinema, it is also a semi-autobiographical homage to the director’s childhood in Mexico City’s Colonia Roma neighborhood, and the only Netflix original film to be nominated for all big five Academy Awards (it won Best Director, Best Foreign Language Film, and Best Cinematography).
The film stars Yalitza Aparicio as Cleodegaria "Cleo" Gutiérrez, a native live-in housekeeper for an affluent family in Mexico City. Rife with familial tension and bitter relationships, but ultimately also love and support, this film was gracefully touching.
Gravity (2013) - 96%
This sci-fi thriller was not only a pioneer when it comes to CGI and cinematography, but it also featured some of the best - if not the best - performances by Sandra Bullock and George Clooney ever. It won seven Academy Awards, six BAFTAs and was an incredible hit at the box office, cashing in sevenfold what it cost.
The film follows the efforts of Dr. Ryan Stone (a medical engineer on her first space assignment) to return to earth after her Space Shuttle "Explorer" is irreparably damaged with the rest of the crew dying in the process (except commanding astronaut Matt Kowalski). The movie was a beautiful metaphor about adversity and not letting the past weigh people down.
A Little Princess (1995) - 97%
This film lingered too close to sentimentality and plainness, but that was the fault of the source material (Frances Hodgson Burnett’s homonymous novel) a lot more than it was the director’s. Nevertheless, it won the hearts of critics and audiences alike and was praised for its beautiful grasp on the innocence of childhood. It follows young Sara Crewe, the daughter of a rich army officer living in British-colonised India. He sends her to a boarding school in England where he spares no expense for her to live a lavish life, all the while retaining her kindness and generosity, until a fateful day when the news of his death arrives.