The Maid

Publisher: Elephant Eye Films	Running Time: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
Release Date: October 10, 2009	Format: Theatrical

I recently paid a visit to the Chicago International Film Festival. Now in its 45th year, the film festival has become an annual tradition of Chicago. This year's roster of movies included approximately 150 films, animated films and shorts. Among them is The Maid, the story of a Chilean housemaid whose ability to cope with anxiety and life away from her family proves difficult. Conflicts brew and tempers flare. It all makes for a good movie experience.

Raquel, the maid for the Valdez family for the past 23 years, is the main character in the film. Among the maid's apparent psychological problems are constant migraines for which she takes medicine frequently. At one point in the movie, she falls down the stairs, which is when the wife of the Valdez family (played by Claudia Celedon) decides to hire Raquel help. Raquel's own insecurity, though, leads to conflict with everyone that gets hired.

In terms of production value, you can definitely tell that this is an independent undertaking. When the movie first started playing, I wondered to myself if they were recording the action on home cameras. Other than a somewhat jerky camera (purposefully at the end), the director put together a fantastic film on a meager budget. This is why I love foreign films. You always find great, previously undiscovered talent.

The thing that I liked best about The Maid is its constant attention to character development. Raquel's relationships change over the course of the movie, her personality ebbs and flows and ultimately her goals in life change as well. Finally when the credits roll, you feel that the hour and a half spent with Raquel on screen has led to progress, her life has been made better and a lesson has been learned - for the viewers to enjoy life more.

Final:	9 out of 10
Written by Kyle Bell	Write a User Review

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