Bonus: Robison Film Center, "La Nana"

Sebastian Silvan’s film the maid creates an interesting and comical look at the Chilean family. Raquel is a middle aged maid, who is worn out from her work. Through Raquel’s interactions with other members of the family, Silvan is able to create a thorough look at social norms in the Hispanic world. Ultimately, Silvan’s film portrays a moving portrait of what it means to be a family in any society.


In the film, Raquel is presented as continually annoyed and frustrated from her work. The opening scene shows Raquel eating dinner late in the evening with a scowl on her face. Eating dinner late in the evening is very common in Spanish speaking countries. In the background, the audience hears a large family happily chatting. Raquel’s dinner is soon interrupted as Mando, the father, rings a bell to summon her. This demonstrates both Raquel’s low position in the family and the father’s role as the “macho” head of household. The masculinity of men and the lower status of women are both typical traits of Hispanic societies. When the children give Raquel gifts for her birthday, she becomes angry, as she will only have to clean up the family’s mess. Raquel’s angry response is a hilarious moment for the audience. Raquel’s frustrated response is also demonstrated through taking several pills, intentionally annoying the children, and her constant sighing. In an attempt to relieve Raquel, the family eventually hires three separate maids.


Each maid eventually quits because she can not handle Raquel’s tactics or because they can not handle the job. The three maids’ distinctive personalities are chosen in order to see if they can handle Raquel’s tactics. Mercedes represents the young, beautiful maid. The second maid Sonia is a much grouchier and older maid. While the family at last attempts to find a permanent helper through Lucy, the bookish and polite maid. Raquel locks all three maids at and all but Lucy resort to desperation to get back inside. Lucy instead sunbathes nude in the backyard. Some of the most hilarious moments of the film occur as Raquel sanitizes the areas the other maids have touched. Raquel disinfects the shower immediately after Mercedes gets out. Any time Sonia finishes a glass of water, Raquel immediately put it into the dishwasher. The first two maids break under Raquel’s pressure. On the other hand, Lucy stands up to Raquel’s pressure and eventually befriends her, but becomes homesick. In the end, Raquel is the only one that can handle being a maid to the Pilar family.


The family eventually realizes that Raquel is a true part of the family. Lucas, one of the sons, endearingly calls her Raque, near the end of the film. After Lucy leaves, Mrs. Pilar stops listening to the advice of her mother that maids are essentially “disposable.” Mrs. Pilar’s mother echoes the hierarchical structure of many Hispanic societies created by colonialism. However, Mrs. Pilar rejects these norms, and instead chooses to view Raquel as an equal. Raquel thus becomes a true member of the family. Bickering and fighting between Raquel and everyone still continues. Yet this is a natural part of any family. This is illustrated with the sibling fighting between both the boys and the girls. At the end of the film, Raquel runs around the block to relieve stress. Her calm face, compared to her exasperated face near the beginning of the film, is a testimony to her new found happiness at being accepted as an equal.