evening1 If you enjoy family soap opera and dysfunction, as well as the chance to peep at women as they shower, this is the movie for you.Here we have the story of an attractive, privileged couple somewhere in South America, along with their squabbling children, and the series of maids who put up with them.The main nanny is Raquel, an angry and depressed woman of uncertain intelligence who has sacrificed 20 years to this clan with nothing to show for it but a cramped bedroom and a deplorable attitude.When the stress begins to get to Raquel, the woman of the house decides to get her some help. Raquel proceeds to act out almost psychopathically until one of the maids pummels her and another tries friendship.A little concern and support go a long way with Raquel and she seems to be regaining her grip by the end of the film. I didn't find this story to be that compelling, though it did keep my interest till the end.As hinted above, I resent the filmmaker's gratuitous inclusion of a breast-revealing shower shot of nearly every female in the film. He may be a voyeur; I prefer not to be.

johnnyboyz The Maid is my kind of low-level drama; a brave and confrontational film about a character whom hates change and outsider influence who's approaching a chapter in their lives in which change is unfolding all around them as well as inside of them, forcing the confronting of such attitudes and placing the results at the forefront in what is an incredible film. It is ironic for a character to stand for such things whilst occupying a film all about the breaking away from a proverbial 'norm' or what is expected; while proof that some of the freshest and most invigorating films are presently coming out of both the South and Latin nations of The Americas, The Maid stands in stark opposition to its neighbours to its continent's north whom can seemingly only dream of producing a film as daring; as unabashed and as inclined to revolve around the exploits of a woman in her forties going through tough times as that of Sebastián Silva's film.This sense of detachment is very much established in the opening scene, our first observing of its titular maid is that of the woman alone in a small room about to begin a makeshift dinner. She has made the evening meal for the large family sitting next door, those for whom she works, and where it is they that we hear, it is their maid that we see. Silva's film is one all about those on the fringes; those outside of a predominant clique, the film fully embracing that notion by zeroing in on those whom are usually placed to the side in what is a highly engaging and quite terrific piece going on to document what is an important chapter in the life of this woman.Catalina Saavedra is Raquel; a maid of whom has been a live-in carer with the rich Chilean family she serves for almost half of her life. This family is big, with sons and daughters of varying ages; a rich family, made aware to us via their inhabiting of a detached house with barred windows, perimeter walls and pool at the rear. Raquel has observed the children grow up; she has maintained a bond with the wife and mother of the faction in Pilar (Celedón); she enjoys son Lucas' company - indeed, as the poster puts it: "She's more or less family". The film will open on Raquel's birthday, her 41st; a birthday she does not spend with that of her actual family in her mother, despite the establishment via a mobile phone conversation that there is little issue between them; rather, she is with her employers, and on what is one night of the year in which specialities and so forth for her ought to take precedence, the party ends up a minute and low-key affair, with the father and husband Edmundo (Goic) excusing himself during the pleasantries and Raquel herself ending up doing most of the clearing away anyway.Times are changing for Raquel and the family; one of the daughters, in Camila (García-Huidobro), has grown up and is approaching her twenties so is no longer victim to the meticulous morning process that sees Raquel kick the doors to the bedrooms of the kids prior to school. Rather, the maid's diminishing control sees Camila's morning process take a more disconnected route; later dinner time speakings on how the crowd she's in with at college are boisterous and not necessarily too law abiding seeing Camila's newfound reckless persona clash with how it's established Raquel operates. On top of these ripples, Raquel herself has been experiencing dizzy spells and has even passed out; something that leads to Pilar suggesting that a new maid tag-along in the near future to help out, something Raquel greets fervently with cries of disdain. One such replacement does arrive, but we do not intermingle with the warm welcomes from the owner; instead, we linger with Raquel as if back-stage, as if it is the ghost of the woman peering on through a glass door as she does at this new threat arriving supposedly present to take her place.Raquel sees the family as an extension to that of her own existence - like the model boats Edmundo makes in his spare time, they are at once precious and delicate but unlike the home's co-owner, there is no line as to which to draw between pastime and lifestyle. With these model galleons, the characteristics of which are that we sense them as these fragile and breakable items, comes the lingering tone of the film; as a delicate, breakable atmosphere one could easily cut and something that goes a long way in encapsulating the atmosphere prominent almost throughout. Yet, where we dislike Raquel through her means of banishing anything that threatens this house-state she has worked twenty years towards preserving, the film grants her an arc upon which she can undergo change; a fellow character, a fellow maid, allowing transition and veering the film away from ninety minutes of detailing a near-psycho doing sordid things to keep their possessive ways flourishing and into something so much more substantial. The film is ultimately a character study, not a freak show; a film whose nihilist outcomes feel ready and available but are not necessarily routes Silva wishes to take the film toward. The Maid is one of two raw, exciting films I have seen from the nation of Chile in recent years; the other being Pablo Larraín's Tony Manero, itself a bruised, stripped down and really rather spirited drama with a mock-hand held aesthetic complimenting that pent-up and rather angry feeling prominent therein. Both films cover that of a paranoid lead, whom takes time to manipulate their surroundings for that of their own benefit as that of a society or congregation encapsulating them appears to gradually fall apart. Both films are as good as one another, and The Maid is one of the best foreign language films of its year.

bioconscious2009 All I knew was that it was a story about a live-in housekeeper/nanny who did not look too happy in the poster image. I also knew that things are complicated when you have help in the household because I am from India where part-time and full-time help are as common as a common sparrow - you notice it only when it makes too much noise. In the very first scene, Raquel, the maid, looks up from her plate at the kitchen table: her perch, her cage, her refuge. She looks straight at the camera and the spectators find themselves being stared down. Raquel seemed to be saying, "you watch, I'll show you what I can do!" and, "welcome to my life, ever see it from this side?" and because she was in uniform, she seemed to be speaking for all maids all over the world, "it's not funny!" I loved that moment. It spoke volumes. After more than two decades of her most youthful years used up cleaning after the kids, cooking, serving, and staying out of the way yet available when needed, Raquel is spent. Her symptoms include bad headaches, spells of dizziness and a perpetual glowering, smoldering expression, passive-aggressive to say the least. The feverish camera movements are synchronized perfectly with Raquel's perspective and Silva's intentions: to make us appreciate her perspective, the ascent and descent of her everyday life. Rising every morning before everyone else, showering, preparing breakfast and snacks for the kids, sending them to school, serving coffee in bed to her masters, vacuuming, scrubbing, laundering, popping pills as she goes along, and then one day finally falling down the stairs in a fainting spell. It had to be that or I was sure she was going to kill someone. If looks could kill, hers surely would have. Driven by the fear (anger and hurt, really) of losing her "family" spot or being "replaced" by a younger more energetic type, Raquel had started showing signs of abnormal and anti-social behavior. When the decision to hire a new maid is finally announced, it is received as nothing less than a declaration of war. It's betrayal, blackball, and banishment, and since Raquel apparently has no where else to go, she fights for what she believes is hers alone. Locking the new maids out of the house, using liberal doses of sarcasm, hiding food from the kids, scrubbing bathtubs with Clorox each time the new maids shower in it… even getting rid of the new kitten who would seemed to be threatening to take her place in receiving whatever little love and affection she gets from the kids. Silva never lets us decide who is going to win.The first additional help hired is a young Peruvian girl who probably symbolizes the current reality in big cities such as Santiago where many Peruvians work as housemaids. Sarcasm directed at the new arrival highlights the intercultural tension present just below the surface of things: "So, you're obviously going to feed Peruvian fare to the family!" This continues for a while until, of course, the good-natured Lucy shows up, and, little by little, wins Raquel's friendship and heart, and provides the opportunity for a dignified exit to all concerned. Sebastián Silva managed to make me laugh about a dark subject by capturing the human elements out of a sea of depressing and gloomy facts: an unorganized, unaccounted for, underpaid, overworked, silent, oft-abused and more-oft simply ignored group of workers. The dark uniform with white collar and front plastic zipper is a great touch. It helps eliminate any tell-tale signs of the life and context of the donner and provides an even and nameless exterior soothing any guilt the employer might harbor. I kept shifting in my seat trying to get comfortable and realized later that perhaps my unease had to do with the fact that Silva reminded me about how socio-economic differences and race play themselves out in reality, about how people are most comfortable within the circle of their own class (when Lucy takes Raquel home to spend Christmas together), how class differences alienate and isolate, and how they are simply there, that's all there is to it. These days, most middle- class families that hire domestic help get part-time help to cook, clean, do laundry and dusting so that the masters can go to work and not have to worry about it all when they get home tired after a day's work. Many Westerners would be less able to relate to this film for lack of experience in this area. Many others would. For it's not just in countries like Chile and India that there is domestic help. We have it here in the US as well. Raquel, being a live- in maid, though, complicates matters a lot. A live-in maid suggests that she is working for a wealthier family who can afford to have someone provide a gentle wake-up call in the morning with coffee in bed. Raquel does not go home to a family (remember the heart- wrenching scene when she cries uncontrollably while talking to her mother we never see), she does not have a life of her own or hobbies to pursue during her time off, and she does not know how to (cannot) get herself out of it. While Raquel is considered "family" by her employers — Pilar certainly makes an effort to treat her with kindness and concern — the subtitle of the movie reads "she's more or less family." In that euphemism resides, in my humble opinion, the core of this dark comedy. After the film, as we were walking back to the parking garage on 2nd street, Katharine remarked (I paraphrase), "you know, I read somewhere that after the film was made, the director's real maid saw it and took off, deciding to get a (new) life!" For this 30-year old director the film has earned a lot of fame, and for his maids, it has earned freedom,

Alex Roma I signed up to IMDb just to leave my word here, and try to warn the other users. IMDb is great community and i relay a lot on it to chose what movies watch, so i just want to do my bit here.The story is slow and plain, no big conflict, twist or what ever. Witch joint with the poor photography made it painful watch to the end. Also the story treat the maid/bosses dynamic in a very cliché way, as the characters are also a cliché representation of social stereotypes in Chilean culture.The image is extreme low contrast, no bokeh, hand-held-make-you-dizzy camera. I think that was recorded in a real house and not studio, because the camera moments you can feel that cameraman need space to move and is not available.Some unnecessary no-erotic nudes (erotic nude are always welcome) and sex jokes/issues.Is really a shame for the Chilean movies industry, if you want to watch some nice Chilean movies go for Machuca, El Chacotero Sentimental maybe Kiltro or even Che Copete.