The Maid

Catalina Saavedra is unforgettable as Raquel, the prickly yet protective maid serving a wealthy Chilean household in Santiago in this warm comic drama of self-discovery. Raquel—an uneducated, isolated refugee from the sticks—is like a curmudgeonly, passive-aggressive old aunt who can be catty to a disrespectful teenage girl while doting on cute little kids. When her health declines and her employers, Pilar and Mundo (Claudia Celedón and Alejandro Goic), hire an assistant housekeeper to help, she's ferociously protective of her turf, declaring war on a series of would-be usurpers to her position in scenes of domestic slapstick. What could easily slip into the realm of black comedy or dark psychological drama brightens up with the entrance of a young hire named Lucy (Mariana Loyola), whose upbeat and accepting nature encourages Raquel to look past the limited horizons of her adopted home to the world outside. Writer-director Sebastián Silva's The Maid is gentle, funny, and sweet (without turning sentimental), but also reveals a Chile suffering from poverty and political strife. Winner of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival World Cinema grand jury prize, this is recommended. [Note: DVD extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (19 min.), a “From Sketch to Screen” storyboard featurette (3 min.), a photo gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a winning foreign film.] (S. Axmaker)