The Chambermaid (2018)
The Chambermaid
”A hardworking maid in a luxurious hotel hopes to move up, but learns the system is rigged.”
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Why watch this film?
There is, in Mexican cinema, a very marked tendency towards exploitation and miserabilism - the so-called pornomiseria - when it comes to exploring issues of social class and economic inequality. 'La camarista', the debut of filmmaker Lila Avilés awarded at the Morelia Festival and winner of the Ariel for Best First Feature, stands out for avoiding these vices and proposing an incisive comment on these issues. The plot follows a young chambermaid, Eve (Gabriela Cartol), who works long and hard days in one of the most exclusive hotels in Mexico City, at the expense of taking care of her son. During her routine she rubs shoulders with colleagues, guests clearly more privileged - and ignorant of her situation - than she is, and studies with the aim of getting a better job to give her family a better life. 'La camarista' is a discreet but powerful portrait of loneliness, determination and crushing social inequality that is lived in Mexico, overflowing with a raging irony under its calculated and meticulous form.
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Plot summary
Eve works long hours as a maid at a luxurious hotel in Mexico City. A single mother, Eve hopes that her diligence will get her a coveted spot on an executive floor. She enrolls in the hotel’s adult education program, but soon discovers that it’s not necessarily the most hard-working who get noticed.
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