Two-time Academy Award winner, Alfonso Cuarón, is one of the most respected directors working in Hollywood. Since making his directorial debut with the Mexican drama Solo con Tu Pareja, the director has consistently delivered ambitious and thought-provoking projects imbued with his trademark style.
Cuarón holds the record for the second-most nomination across different Oscar categories, receiving acknowledgments in six. Critics and audiences consider him a promise of quality, knowing his films will deliver deep and emotionally resonant experiences. Indeed, his movies are highly acclaimed, as evidenced by their high ratings on the popular site, IMDb.
Great Expectations (1998) - 6.8
Translating Charles Dickens' bitter take on Gothic and Bildungsroman into modern-day New York City might've seemed like a million-dollar idea. Cuarón assembled an all-star cast led by Gen-X icon Ethan Hawke and Gwyneth Paltrow, one of the most iconic actresses from the '90s, joined by screen legends Robert De Niro and Anne Bancroft.
The result was Great Expectations, a movie where Cuarón favors style over substance. Paltrow makes for an inspired Estella, while Hawke's boyish good looks perfectly embody Pip's more superficial qualities. However, gone is Dickens' richness of characterization, replaced with a sanitized version of the all-consuming romance that made the novel a timeless classic.
Solo Con Tu Pareja (1991) - 6.9
Cuarón's first feature film cemented him as a rising talent. Starring Mexican actors Daniel Giménez-Cacho and Claudia Ramírez, Solo Con Tu Pareja follows a notorious lothario whose romantic entanglements bring about his own undoing.
Solo Con Tu Pareja is very much a film of its time. It relishes in '90s sensibilities of romantic drama, adding a healthy dose of Almodóvar-like turmoil, and eventually arriving at a Hollywood-esque rom-com ending atop the Torre Latinoamericána. It stands as a unique gem among Cuarón's filmography, showing hints of the talent within without ever outright declaring it.
Paris, Je T'aime (2006) - 7.2
Paris, Je T'aime is a 2006 anthology film comprised of 18 short films starring a large ensemble of actors and directed by 22 filmmakers, among them Cuarón. The Mexican director helmed the short Parc Monceau, starring Nick Nolte and Ludivine Sagnier as an older man and a younger woman meeting under tense circumstances.
Shot in a single continuous five-minute take, Parc Monceau contributes to the film's overall sense of chaos. Indeed, Paris, Je T'aime is uneven and disjointed, but that may be the point. Every story is distinctive thanks to the individual filmmakers behind them, creating a unique collage of cinematic excellence that may just have something for everyone.
Y Tu Mamá También (2001) - 7.6
Cuarón's ticket to international acclaim came in 2001 with his road trip drama, Y Tu Mamá También. Starring Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu, the film follows two teenage friends who take a road trip with a woman in her late 20s.
Set against a backdrop of critical change in Mexican politics, Y Tu Mamá También is a quintessential coming-of-age story. The relationship between the boys takes center stage, and Cuarón deftly navigates complex themes of masculinity and self-discovery mixed with a refreshing and frank depiction of sexuality. Y Tu Mamá También remains one of Cuarón's best, a film that captured the Mexican zeitgeist during a time in which, much like the film's central road trip, things seemed uncertain but vaguely promising.
A Little Princess (1995) - 7.7
Despite his reputation for biting, hard-hitting dramas and ambitious technical achievements, Cuarón also has an undeniable eye for fantasy. A Little Princess, the director's first encounter with a Hollywood production, is the perfect example of his emotional sensibilities in coming-of-age stories.
Blending magical realism and drama, A Little Princess is one of the all-time best fantasy movies. The film also confirmed Cuarón and his frequent collaborator, Emmanuel Lubezki, as a director-cinematographer duo unlike any other. The film's luscious cinematography and production values received critical acclaim, cementing Cuarón as an ambitious director of singular vision.
Roma (2018) - 7.7
A modern-day black-and-white masterpiece in every sense of the word, Roma is Cuarón's latest directorial effort. Deeply personal and semi-autobiographical, Roma follows the day-to-day life of Cleo, a domestic worker employed by an upper-middle-class family in 1970s Mexico.
Roma finds Cuarón arguably at the best stage of his career. It's a thrilling, evocative, and emotionally resonant film that contains multitudes in the quietest moments. Elevated by a stunning Yalitza Aparicio in her acting debut, Roma finds power in the mundane. Cuarón uses his lens to reveal the unexplored beauty in the most simplistic: an empty street at the break of dawn, a woman sweeping a house she'll never own, a heartfelt hug at the beach. Roma is intimate, devastating, an exploration of life unlike anything audiences had seen before.
Gravity (2013) - 7.7
In the eyes of many, Gravity might be Alfonso Cuaron's best movie. The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and tells the story of Ryan Stone, an astronaut adrift in space after the destruction of her shuttle. Panicked but determined to go back home, she struggles to find a way.
Gravity lives and dies with Cuarón and Bullock, and the two rise up to the challenge. The actress gives perhaps the best performance of her career, showing a raw vulnerability that viewers had seldom seen before. For his part, Cuarón crafts the perfect eerie atmosphere, which, coupled with some truly groundbreaking visuals, effectively conveys the vast terror of outer space. Gravity is a technical feat that never forgets the story's emotional core, resulting in one of the great sci-fi stories of the 2010s.
Children Of Men (2006) - 7.9
Dystopia changed forever when Cuarón premiered his sci-fi masterpiece, Children of Men, in 2006. The film, starring Clive Owen arguably at the peak of his career, follows Theo, a civil servant who must help Kee, the first pregnant woman following two decades of human infertility.
Expertly blending action, sci-fi, and drama in a way few other directors ever could, Cuarón creates a daring and thrilling marvel of epic proportions. The film features two of the most ambitious and precise long-take sequences in film history and a plot so tight that it keeps the viewer on the edge of their seat. Technically proficient and narratively exquisite, Children of Men is, without a doubt, one of the best sci-fi films in cinematic history.
Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) - 7.9
The third entry in the magical Harry Potter franchise, Prisoner of Azkaban follows Harry as he faces Sirius Black, a seemingly sadistic criminal believed to be one of Lord Voldemort's fiercest allies. Prisoner of Azkaban features somewhat of a departure from previous entries in the series, abandoning childhood to enter a decidedly more mature space where Harry begins to confront the painful realities of being "the Chosen One."
To coincide with this narrative shift, Cuarón abandons the preppy vibe of Chris Columbus' first two entries in favor of a laid-back visual style, accompanied by a darker, gloomier, and at times frightening atmosphere. Cuarón's work emphasizes the Golden Trio's emotional turmoil, exploring themes that go hand-in-hand with growing up, such as disillusionment, pain, and even hormonal changes. The result is a self-assured and instantly memorable entry that stands on its own while still serving as the perfect bridge between Harry's childhood and his journey to maturity.