The Maid

Colour, 35 mm
Chile, 2008, 95 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

Raquel has been working for the wealthy Valdés family since she was 18. During that time she has become a nanny to five children and a tireless maid who is on her feet from morning till night. Aside from debilitating migraines and the illusion that she is perceived as part of the family, life has given her nothing. Her poorly concealed bitterness and increasing conflicts with the eldest Valdés daughter lead the lady of the house to the conviction that her current "jill-of-all-trades” is overworked. But surprisingly, her decision to hire extra help rubs Raquel the wrong way... Does the exhausted domestic truly not need any help or is she just trying, by hook or by crook, to maintain the exclusivity of her dubious standing within the bosom of the family? She can hardly expect them to help her finally discover herself.... In the intersection between social and human pressures, the director gently depicts the modern form of serfdom which yet lingers in aristocratic Latin American families.

About the director

Sebastián Silva (b. 1979, Santiago) is a multifaceted creator, dividing his artistic activities among film, painting, illustrating, and music. After studying film for a year in Chile, he changed plans and set out for Montreal. But his intention to study animation ended in a job selling shoes. Nevertheless, that year he organized three exhibitions and founded the band CHC, with whom he recorded three albums. At one of his exhibitions someone convinced him to approach Steven Spielberg in order to pitch a project. The trip to Hollywood was unsuccessful but he did get a screenplay out of it. In the meantime, another musical project found distribution backing in the USA and the UK. In New York he organized an exhibition and wrote the script for his feature debut Life Kills Me (Vida me mata, 2007), which he then shot in Chile. Silva followed up the release of a solo album with his second movie The Maid (Sundance - Grand Jury Prize at the World Cinema Competition). He is currently in New York City writing another screenplay.