The Mexican film La camarista (2018) was shown in the U. S. with the translated title The Chambermaid. It was co-written and directed by Lila Avilés.

Gabriela Cartol stars in the title role. She portrays a young woman named Eve. Eve is a poor woman who lives in a distant neighborhood that we never see. Everything in the film happens inside the luxurious hotel.

The movie will rise or fall depending on Cartol's acting skills. She is an excellent actor, and we believe in her as Eve.

Eve works hard, and she is respected by the other workers because of this. Sadly, they accept the hard work and low pay as a given. There's no hint that they would try to collectively stand up to management. What they do is to try to curry favor with management so that they can advance to more expensive rooms where they will get better tips.

Eve's only connection with the outside world is when she makes hurried phone calls to the woman caring for her child. Sometimes she can say a few quick words to him. Otherwise, it's all constant, difficult work.

As you can guess, this isn't a happy film. However, it's an honest film about a diligent worker. I recommend it if you are concerned about workers and their lives.

We saw this movie as a virtual presentation of the Washington, D. C. Labor Film Festival. La camarista has a fairly weak IMDb rating of 7.0. I thought it was much better than that, and rated it 9.

Mexico's submission for Best Foreign Language Film for 2019 focuses on a maid's dismal life in an upscale hotel in Mexico City. "La camarista" ("The Chambermaid" in English) takes place entirely within the hotel - as if to say that the protagonist is a prisoner there - and uses long shots to remind the audience of her unpleasant job. He entire day involves cleaning rooms and assisting guests; examples are an Argentinian tourist who needs her baby watched, and an Orthodox Jewish man who can't operate an elevator on the Sabbath.

All of this serves to remind the viewer of Mexico's class structure, just like "Roma" did. The maid aspires to something more, but is it really within her reach in a society where the social hierarchy is all but institutionalized?

Definitely see it.

Despite the majority of the people on our planet having monotonous, often terrible jobs, there are few movies about them. I don't mean plots where the underdog gets involved in some crazy crime or becomes a hero against the odds. I refer to the theme of being poor and underappreciated being everything.

The majority of the rich, as the driver of economic disparity, certainly don't care for poverty except as entertainment, but the slaves of our world are equally to blame for using soapies, fake reality shows and mindless action films to escape.

This isn't about blame, but me explaining why I think there are too few necessary movies that teach us the plight of our fellow human beings. 'The Chambermaid' deserves companions such as 'The Street Sweeper', 'The Tollbooth Operator' etc.

Don't let me be so sociological as to be insensitive to the fact that this is also about the main character struggling to overcome her shyness so as to be less alone, and, more importantly, struggling to be more versus a world that's bigger than her.

As sub-theme, 'The Chambermaid', indirectly yet clearly asks and answers: "Do you leave your respect and responsibility at home, or carry it with you as a hotel guest?"