The Maid

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The Maid

Released Oct 16, 2009

1h 36m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

93%

Tomatometer

74 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Raquel (Catalina Saavedra) has been the live-in maid for the Valdes family for over two decades, coming to regard them with the utmost loyalty and respect. But when Raquel starts suffering from dizzy spells due to overexposure to cleaning chemicals, Mrs. Valdes (Claudia Celedón) hires additional help to take the pressure off her. Desperate to retain her job and resentful towards the new help, Raquel launches an all-out assault on each new employee who walks through the Valdes family's doors.

Critics Consensus

Catalina Saavedra's devastating performance would be reason enough to see The Maid, but Sebastian Silva's empathetic direction and finely tuned script only add to the movie's pleasing heft.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

This is a boring and much too long movie...all in all, if you give any thought to how you spend your discretionary hours this, in my opinion, The Maid is not the movie for you.

Jan 17, 2018

Full Review

Laura Kern

Film Comment Magazine

The Maid is a film that defies expectations; expect to feel ashamed of yourself.

Oct 20, 2014

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

As played by Catalina Saavedra, she's a guarded, ruthless, but ultimately poignant character, and writer-director Sebastian Silva studies the levers of power inside the little household as if it were the Politburo.

Mar 13, 2014

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

This excellent insidious film transmits fear by remote control. [Full review in Spanish]

Aug 10, 2022

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Dustin Chang

Floating World

The Maid features one of my favorite movie endings in recent years. Slice of life that is both touching and real.

Mar 24, 2021

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MaryAnn Johanson

Flick Filosopher

[A] pointed examination of domestic politics; a startling portrait of a life given over to others; a beautifully observed film about the smallest of everyday things that somehow feels huge and noble and universal.

Feb 17, 2021

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Ozden O

Sebastian Silva filmlerine merakımı oluşturan film. Temelde "sevginin iyileştirici gücü" temalı film. Bir sarılma ile gelen kırılma anında, uzun süre özdeşlik kuramadığım hizmetçi ile bir olup, ağlamaya başladım. Sevgi, güven, samimiyet ve gülme; birbirinin eşlikçisi olarak, aile temasıyla, çok güzel aktarılmış. Seni sevdim Sebastian Silva.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/02/24

Full Review

Audience Member

I laughed, I cried, I rooted for Alex and I yelled at Alex. Please hang in through all the episodes and when you start to "judge" - what you'd do or what she "should have done", consider traumatized people don't often operate off logic and trauma from her childhood, which we weren't privy to all of them- cannot be judged by us- only respected.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/02/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Un personaje oscuro, con una jefa que le perdona todo y la sobrepone a la familia, dejando a la hija en segundo lugar, lo cual me parece desagradable, es una tragedia que las personas que dedican sus vidas a la vida domestica dejando ajenas sus vidas pierdan identidad, creo que se pudo haber manejado de manera más realista y no tan inverosímil,

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

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Audience Member

Thoughtful look at the life of a maid who has spent 20 years devoting her life to her job. Chilean with subtitles.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Catalina Saavedra is quietly devastating in her subtle, natural lead performance and Silva's empathetic touch gives the social commentary a brilliantly caustic edge.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Catalina Saavedra is brilliant as a lonely maid in a large household.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

Full Review

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Sebastián Silva

Director

Catalina Saavedra

Raquel

Claudia Celedón

Pilar

Alejandro Goic

Mundo

Andrea García-Huidobro

Camila

Mariana Loyola

Lucy

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Synopsis

Raquel (Catalina Saavedra) has been the live-in maid for the Valdes family for over two decades, coming to regard them with the utmost loyalty and respect. But when Raquel starts suffering from dizzy spells due to overexposure to cleaning chemicals, Mrs. Valdes (Claudia Celedón) hires additional help to take the pressure off her. Desperate to retain her job and resentful towards the new help, Raquel launches an all-out assault on each new employee who walks through the Valdes family's doors.

Director: Sebastián Silva
Screenwriter: Sebastián Silva, Pedro Peirano
Distributor: Elephant Eye Films
Production Co: Punto Guion Punto Producciones, Forastero, Diroriro, Film Tank
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Spanish
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 16, 2009, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 26, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $549.5K
Runtime: 1h 36m

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