NEWS

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The Davidson Film Club is pleased to invite you to a screening and discussion of the critically acclaimed Mexican film The Chambermaid on Saturday, August 27, at 7:00 p.m. IN THE ARMOUR STREET THEATRE!

“Subtle, intimate and very captivating.” Yasser Medina, Cinemaficionados

Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer: 99%!

 Directed by Lila Avilés

Mexico (2018, 1h42)

In Spanish w/English subtitles

Discussion of the film will be led by Barbara Randolph, a decades-long Mexico City resident and currently a Davidson Community Activist.

 

Like so many other venues in our community at this time, we warmly encourage our patrons to wear a mask but do not require it. We will have N95 or KN95 masks available at the door for those who need one.

 *Our apologies once again to the audience members last month for the equipment failure that prevented us from seeing the whole film we had programmed. We have installed a brand-new Blu-ray player in the Armour Street Theatre, as well as a new lamp in the projector, with the hope of never seeing that happen again!

Walk-ins are welcome, $9 at the door, cash or check (no credit cards). Walk-ins must apply for a seat in advance at [email protected]. Walk-in seats are limited by availability.

 

Refreshments (red and white wine, bottled water, and snacks) will be made available by the Film Club.

Film Summary:

A look at the working environment of Eve, a young chambermaid (with a small child) in one of Mexico City’s most luxurious hotels. Eve enrolls in the hotel’s adult education program to help improve her life.

 13 wins and 28 nominations. Multiple Best First Work and Best Director awards plus Best Film and Best Mexican Film awards.

 “A transcendent film.” Laura Hiros, Diario La Estrelle

 “This is brilliantly confident film-making.” Roxana Hadadi, AWFJ Women on Film

 “There is something fascinating in the struggle of this woman faced with the impersonality of the human condition.” Javier Ocaña, El Pais (Spain)

“This wry, delicately austere debut from Mexican theatre director Lila Avilés goes one step further. To quote a famous TV sitcom line: “I don’t speak maid.” With Avilés’s help, we’re taught a new language.” Charlotte O’Sullivan, London Evening Standard

 “No trace of the literary or theatrical remains in Avilés’s long takes and snatched, blank dialogue. The picture wraps a whole world around us.” Donald Clarke, Irish Times

 “Slow, steady, and with an exacting eye for detail, Lila Avilés’ The Chambermaid is a painfully astute observational drama about a young woman working in one of Mexico City’s posh hotels. The movie closely follows Eve on her daily rounds of dreary tasks.” Monica Castillo, Roger Ebert

User Review:

“Obviously not for those looking for an action flick, this is a stark and personal look at the daily life of Eve, a 24-year-old introverted maid at a luxurious Mexico City hotel. Impeccably portrayed by Gabriela Cartol, Eve must try and deal with the mundane aspects of her job: often being treated as invisible by the guests, inter-staff politics, and trying to find enough time to see and talk to her young son as the job permits.”

Our updated website at www.davidsonfilmclub.com features the whole current series (July-Nov. 2022) and film descriptions. Have you Bookmarked it? 

 Please be reminded that members are always free to give their seats to a friend if they cannot make it to a given screening. Just email us at [email protected] to let us know the name of the friend who will be using your seat(s).

We are a non-profit, tax-exempt organization run by volunteers that only exists to bring you fine international fiction films and engage in stimulating discussion about them.

Hope to see many of you on Saturday, August 27, at the screening of this rather stark  but very touching film about the hopes and frustrations of a low-level working woman in Mexico.

Alan

 Alan Singerman
President, Davidson Film Club
[email protected]
(704) 231-6736