Roma (2018) Trivia Quiz

Answer: Washing the driveway

The film starts with the opening credits appearing over a bird's-eye-view shot of the tiles of a driveway. We hear the sound of running water and then see it flowing over the tiles, as Cleo begins to wash the driveway. The swirling, soapy water creates a reflection in the floor tiles of the sky above the house and a passing plane. As Cuarón said in a press conference, "The film starts looking at earth, in which heaven is nothing but a reflection in the water." The camera pans up when Cleo is done to show her storing the water hose, bucket and squeegee. Cleo then goes about the rest of her chores - making the beds, collecting the laundry, and seeing to the afternoon meal after the children return home from school.

By focusing on these mundane household tasks, Cuarón elevates Cleo from a character ordinarily relegated to the sidelines to the driving force of the film's narrative. We see Cleo interrupt her clothes washing on the roof to share a playful, tender moment with Pepe, and later that evening we see Pepe protest when Cleo's duties threaten to take her away from family time in front of the TV. Cleo puts Sofi to bed with a lullaby and is the first person Sofi sees when she is awoken gently from her slumber the next morning. Even the simple act of turning off the lights in the house acquires a special significance when we learn that the mischievous Pepe turned them all on just for Cleo. Through a series of vignettes of everyday life, Cuarón paints a picture of a loving family with Cleo as its beating heart.

Answer: The car is too big for the driveway.

A car sounds its horn impatiently as Adela, the family's other maid, opens the gate at the end of the driveway to reveal a Ford Galaxie 500. "Dad's home early!" Sofi calls out excitedly as she steps out the front door of the house. Pepe takes his place beside her, clutching a plush toy. Antonio puts the car into gear and eases it into the driveway slowly. The audience soon learns why this is such a delicate operation - the car is simply too large for the narrow driveway, leaving Antonio to navigate with only about an inch on either side. The front of the car is in, until the left side mirror touches the gate frame. Antonio stops the car, puts it in reverse, and backs up a few inches before trying again. The Galaxie moves further in but brakes again when the right side is about to come into contact with a pipe. Antonio backs up the car again, stops, then inches forward once more until the car is completely inside the driveway. Antonio shuts off the engine and shifts over to the passenger seat so that he can exit the vehicle, as there's no space on the driver's side to open the door. "Who are these kids?" he says playfully, as he picks Pepe up and enters the house.

The over-sized Galaxie could be a metaphor for Antonio's dissatisfaction with his personal circumstances. Despite a good job (he's a doctor), a comfortable home, and a devoted family, Antonio isn't content with his lot in life. Much like his car, he is an ill fit in his own home.

Answer: Rent a hotel room

Adela and Cleo have a close relationship - Adela teases Cleo about her budding relationship with Fermin, and we see them race each other to the torta stand and chat over lunch about what scoundrels men can be. Ramon and Fermin show up, and the two couples head off to the cinema. "You really feel like seeing a movie?" Fermin asks Cleo. "I like movies. Don't you?" Cleo replies. "But it's so nice outside," Fermin observes. Cleo agrees, and suggests that they go to the park instead. Fermin informs Ramon not to buy their tickets, while Adela teases Cleo again. "Look at you," she says. "I'd rather play in the dark. Tell me everything later."

The next time we see Cleo and Fermin, they are in a simply furnished hotel room. Cleo is sitting in bed under the covers, watching Fermin as he gives a martial arts demonstration using the shower curtain rod from the bathroom. Fermin's display is sincere but slightly absurd, and Cleo struggles to suppress her amusement. When the foreplay is over, he joins her on the bed and leans in for a kiss.

Answer: To Quebec for a conference

Earlier in the week, the family are sitting around the dining table when Señora Sofia asks Cleo to send her husband's suits to the cleaners as he needs to pack for Friday. When Pepe asks if Dad is going away, Sofia confirms that he is going to a conference in Quebec. "Where is that?" Sofi asks, prompting the boys to answer in unison, "In Canada," and tease her for her ignorance.

Friday comes, and Señor Antonio packs up a smaller Volkswagen to leave. Sofia hugs her husband from behind and holds on for a little too long, the first sign that something isn't quite right. "We'll be here, Antonio," she whispers urgently. "It's just a few weeks," he replies flatly, as he gets into the car and drives away. We don't learn until later that Antonio isn't leaving Mexico City at all and is instead abandoning his family. The story about him attending a conference in Quebec is a lie that Sofia tells the children because at this stage she is still hopeful that her husband will change his mind about the separation and return home.

Answer: He excuses himself to use the bathroom and doesn't return.

Fermin and Cleo are sitting near the back of the cinema, but neither of them are paying attention to the movie, as Fermin is more interested in making out. "I think I'm pregnant," Cleo whispers when she gets the chance to catch her breath. "Ah well," Fermin says. "That's good, right?" Cleo is visibly relieved. "Yes," she says, and they snuggle. A few moments pass, and Fermin says that he needs the bathroom. "But it's almost over," Cleo whispers, referring to the movie. "Yes, but I have to go now. I won't be long," Fermin promises. He leaves Cleo sitting alone in the cinema as the movie ends and the other patrons begin filing out of the hall. She waits until the end credits finish rolling, then retrieves the jacket that Fermin left behind and waits for him on the steps of the entrance, her worry slowly giving way to dismay, and finally resignation. Fermin never returns.

Sofia's abandonment by Antonio is followed almost immediately by Cleo's abandonment by Fermin, driving home the unfortunate commonality that both women share, despite their differences in class and social status. The women in this film will have to learn self-sufficiency, as the men in their lives are all unreliable.

Answer: Earthquake

Cleo is worried and distracted, as she doesn't know how Señora Sofia will take the news. With words of encouragement from Adela, Cleo brings a tray of coffee to Sofia and asks if she has a moment to talk. Sofia sets the children a task - write a letter to their father telling him that they love him and want him to come home soon - and sits down with Cleo on the sofa. "What is it? Are you alright?" Sofia asks. "Oh, Mrs. Sofi," Cleo begins. "It's just that I think I'm pregnant." Sofia places her hand on Cleo's arm and says, "What do you mean you 'think'?" Through tears, Cleo tells Sofia that she hasn't gotten her period. Sofia asks who the father is and if he knows about the pregnancy, but Cleo tells her that Fermin is gone. "Are you going to fire me?" Cleo asks tearfully. "Fire you? Of course not. We have to take you to get checked," Sofia replies, as she pulls Cleo into a hug.

Sofia takes Cleo to the hospital, badly scratching the sides of the Galaxie on the way when she attempts to squeeze past two parked trucks. Cleo is examined by a gynecologist, who confirms that she is three to four months' pregnant and is due in June. Sofia asks Cleo to go see the newborns in the maternity ward while she finishes talking to the doctor. Cleo stares at the rows of babies through the window when the building suddenly begins shaking. "Earthquake!" an elderly lady exclaims, as she instructs her granddaughter to kneel. Cleo watches the nursing staff hurry to protect the babies, as blocks of plaster begin falling from the ceiling. As the tremors subside, Cleo looks at a premature baby inside an incubator that is completely covered in pieces of broken plaster.

Answer: Marooned

Toño wants to watch "Marooned" with his friend, Beto, but when all his other siblings express interest in the film, Sofia declares that everyone can go. "That's not fair!" Toño declares, but Sofia's mind is made up. "If you don't like it, go live elsewhere," she tells him. The children are accompanied by Cleo and Señora Teresa, Sofia's mother. Toño, still upset over being forced to bring his brothers and sister, runs with Beto ahead of the group, forcing Cleo to hurry after them through the busy city streets. She catches up with the pair just outside the cinema, just in time to see Señor Antonio walking by accompanied by a younger woman who is clearly not Sofia. Toño and Beto also spot the oblivious pair, and Toño gets into an argument with Beto over whether the man was really Toño's father. Cleo approaches the dejected Toño but doesn't know how to comfort him. "Come on, let's get the tickets," she says.

"Marooned" is about three astronauts stranded in space, and the scenes featured in the film bear a striking resemblance to Cuarón's 2013 film "Gravity". The inclusion of the film doesn't just pay homage to the likely inspiration for the director's earlier film - it also ties in with the theme of Cleo and Sofia being stranded by Fermin and Antonio. As Sofia tells Cleo one night when she returns home drunk and crashes the Galaxie into the side of the walled driveway, "We are alone. No matter what they tell you, we women are always alone."

Answer: Her baby is stillborn.

Señora Teresa takes Cleo shopping for a crib, when violence breaks out just outside the store. A paramilitary group clashes with student demonstrators in what will become known as the Corpus Christi massacre of 1971. Señora Teresa and Cleo look out the windows of the store in horror as the mass of student demonstrators are set upon by an armed group of soldiers called Los Halcónes. A frightened couple are chased into the store by a group of Halcónes, who execute the man and threaten the other shoppers at gunpoint. One Halcón points his gun at Cleo and is revealed to be Fermin, who glares at her before leaving with the rest of his compatriots. Cleo's water breaks and she is brought to the hospital, but it takes two hours to get there and the hospital is overrun with injured victims from the attacks of the day. When it is determined that her baby is in distress, Cleo is rushed to surgery where her daughter is delivered, but the doctors are unable to revive her. "Cleo, I'm very sorry," the pediatrician advises. "Your baby was born dead." A devastated Cleo gets to hold her daughter for a few moments to say goodbye.

Cleo's tragedy is foreshadowed by two scenes earlier in the film; the earthquake in the maternity ward during Cleo's first visit to the hospital, and the scene where Cleo celebrates the new year with the workers of the hacienda where Sofia and the children are spending the holiday. Benita, a housekeeper at the hacienda, pours Cleo a jug of pulque to ring in the new year, but just as she brings it to her lips a dancing couple bump into her, causing her to drop the jar. As Benita pours her another drink, Cleo looks down at the broken jar and spilt pulque on the floor.

Answer: To enable Antonio to collect his things from the house

Señora Sofia returns home one day driving a shiny new Renault that fits easily in the driveway. "I wanted a smaller car," she explains to the children. "I've had it with that Galaxie." She informs them that she sold the bigger car and has a surprise for them. "We're taking the Galaxie for a goodbye trip," she says. "And we're going to invite Cleo along, right?" Sofi and Pepe are delighted at the suggestion, but Cleo just shakes her head. "Come on. It'll do you good," Sofia says. "Besides, the kids will miss you if you don't come." Cleo reluctantly agrees to go on the trip.

They drive to Tuxpan, near Veracruz, where Sofia tells the children the truth over dinner. "Kids, listen. I have something to tell you," she says. She reveals that their father isn't in Canada and that he never went away. "Your dad isn't coming back home," she says. "We came here so he can take his things." Paco begins to cry, but Sofia pushes on bravely. "There's going to be changes, but we'll be together. And it's going to be an adventure," she tells them.

The Ford Galaxie represents the giant hole that Antonio leaves in his family's life with his departure, and throughout the film Sofia takes out her frustrations and aggression on this representation of her philandering husband when she repeatedly bangs up the car. Once she accepts the reality that he is never coming back, she replaces the car with a more practical model and finally tells the children the truth.

Answer: She didn't want her baby to be born.

Señora Sofia goes with Toño to check the Galaxie's tires for their trip home, leaving Cleo and the rest of the children at the beach. Before she leaves, she warns the children to stay close to the shore. Cleo is drying Pepe and calling out after Paco and Sofi when she notices them struggling against the currents. Despite not knowing how to swim, she ventures into the ocean after them as the crests of the waves grow higher and higher and crash over the children's heads. Cleo stays in the water until Paco and then Sofi resurface, and she helps them back to shore. By this time, Sofia and Toño have returned, and they run to greet Cleo, Paco and Sofi as they collapse on the beach. "What happened?" Sofia asks as she clutches her daughter. "Cleo saved us," Sofi says between ragged breaths. Sofia thanks Cleo, who is shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. "I didn't want her," Cleo cries pitifully. "I didn't want her to be born." Little Pepe has also joined them by this point, and they all crowd around Cleo and pull her into a consoling hug. "We love you so much, Cleo," Sofia says to her. "Poor little thing. We love you so, so much."

They drive home and the children all react to the sight of the house without the bookcases and other items that Antonio has claimed while they were gone. Cleo collects the dirty clothes from the luggage that they took on the trip and exits the kitchen, passing Adela on her way out to the store. "I have so much to tell you," Cleo says. The camera pans upwards to follow Cleo as she takes the laundry up the metal staircase to the roof. In contrast with the opening scene, the film ends looking up towards the heavens.