Live-In Maid

Dora (51) is the maid of Mrs. Beba (59) and has worked and lived with her for 35 years. Beba used to be a well-to-do socialite but successive economic and personal crises have worn her out, reducing her to a purveyor of decadence. Nowadays she finds herself forced to sell door-to-door beauty products. Her thick gold earrings, and her maid, Dora, are the last bastions of a lifestyle of which she refuses to let go. Dora came at 17 from the Chaco province to work as a full time maid at Beba’s apartment. Since then she has managed to start building a house in one of the shantytowns outside Buenos Aires. However, she is unable to complete the construction of her own house because Beba owes Dora six months of salary. Dora, tired of listening to Beba’s promises of payment, is now determined to resign. Beba asks her for more time to get the money together. Dora accepts. During this period Beba tries to mine the confidence of Dora, discouraging her not to venture into a new phase of her life. It is now that the sharpest aspects of their relationship come into view. Though doomed by class prejudices and abusive power codes there is also a bond cemented by mutual love from three decades of living together. Finally, Beba gets the money to cancel the debt and offers some cash in advance to make her maid stay. But Dora has already made up her mind. Dora leaves the apartment to live with Miguel, her weekend boyfriend, at her new home on the city outskirts. Meanwhile, at Beba’s apartment, the energy, and telephone services are suspended due to lack of payment. Summer arrives. Beba has to rent out her apartment to be able pay her debts. She goes in a moving truck to Dora’s house, with the intention of giving her all of her furniture. Beba has no place to live. Dora invites her to stay in her house and live together again. 2005 - Sundance Film Festival: Special Jury Prize, World Cinema Dramatic Competition