Saturday 30 January 2010

Mini Review - 'La Nana'

After 23 years serving a Chilean family, Raquel's job security is threatened. Not only does she harbour a unexplained hatred for the oldest daughter of the family, but the matriarch wants to hire a second maid to help Raquel. This is done purely out of love, to help Raquel with the house work as she gets older, but Raquel is not happy.

She sabotages the new hires with child-like pranks, until one manages to see through the harsh exterior and see the fear.

The story hits on so many themes to do with the relationship with domestic help. They are considered family, but they never really are due to the barrier of the pay-cheque.
The film belongs to Catalina Saavedra, who is outstanding as Raquel. You may think she is crazy but she makes every emotional shift feel completely natural. You may not agree with her actions, but she makes you understand and have sympathy for a woman who no longer has no real home anymore except the one she works in.

Grade - A-

4 comments:

Michael B. said...

La Nana has become one of my favorites of the year.

I think she may be my Best Actress win. Sorry, Gabby. I'd say the performance was near perfect.

Notas Sobre Creación Cultural e Imaginarios Sociales said...

Why isn't there an A category between your A-s and A+s?
Anyways, I'm happy for you when the movies you look forward to so much fulfill your expectations.
I honestly hadn't expected this one to make such an impression on me as it did. In fact your blog was the first place where I heard about it for the first time.
I think some of the nuances of the movie get lost in translation, but you of all people have an inkling about Hispanic culture and really very few movies to come out of my part of the world this decade where so damn good as this one.

Michael Parsons said...

Between you and me Jose, 'Precious' is really an A. There is no such thing as an A+ - I just got carried away.

What stuck with me the most is my Spanish is not very good at all, and I watched this without subtitles. Still it translated. Who knows, perhaps with subtitles it may make it to an A grade.

I guess my understanding of Hispanic culture is nothing more than growing up in Bermuda. There are so many similarities.

Michael Parsons said...

Between you and me Jose, 'Precious' is really an A. There is no such thing as an A+ - I just got carried away.

What stuck with me the most is my Spanish is not very good at all, and I watched this without subtitles. Still it translated. Who knows, perhaps with subtitles it may make it to an A grade.

I guess my understanding of Hispanic culture is nothing more than growing up in Bermuda. There are so many similarities.