Glad for a chance of its Thai press screening a day before Netflix release, because I would be tempted to stream it out of convenience otherwise. The images of course look gorgeous and pristine on big screen, but the real reason to see it that way is for the sophisticated sound design, working in concert with its remarkable long takes and pans to envelope us in Cleo's routines, actions, and environment. This may be the technical achievement of the year.
However, I get the nagging feeling that Cuaron may be too close to the subject here, so much that he is too busy crafting an exact replication of his devotion to a person and place, becoming a portrait of high reverence rather than nuance. Thus it's affecting in broad scope, but not shattering in its details as I had hoped. There are some powerful images and stretches, in which the stressful, everything-goes-wrong day of the birth is a standout. Overall though, I feel like I was being led through a museum hall of extraordinary history rather than having a full cinematic experience. Its beauty awed me, and its tribute of faith to this woman's life impressed and occasionally moved me, but I was never deeply engaged by the time it ended. 7.5/10
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