Babel ****

I liked Babel at lot, in spite of some aspects that were not believable or hard to swallow. I won't go into a detailed review since this movie is has been reviewed to death, but let me say that the movie was beautiful, anxiety producing and frustrating. There are injustices that will drive you nuts, but you can't do a thing about them.

In addition to the typical reviews, there was a good one here.

Warning: There are some scenes that are not for the faint of heart.

Live-in Maid ****

Spanish with English Sub-titles.

In December, 2001, in Argentina, banks effectively closed their doors and customers were limited to withdrawing 300 pesos per month (imagine us suddenly being limited to withdrawing $300 month). Chaos and the collapse of the Argentine economy followed. Live-In Maid takes place in months prior to this cataclysmic event and is study of the relationship between an upper-crusty woman and her live-in maid as money is running out and the employer is having trouble paying the maid her salary. The acting is superb and it's Jorge Gaggero’s first film.

After nearly 30 years of ministering to Bebe's needs, Dora is thinking of quiting her job. Bebe has become entirely dependent on Dora, acting like royalty, although she is simply a middle class woman who has used up her inheritance on dumb business deals. For us norte americanos its a bit difficult to imagine having a live-in who cooks, cleans, shops, does laundry, and anything else you might not want to bother with, but in Argentina, still today, live-in maids are fairly common in the homes and apartments of the middle class (the wealthy have several servants). Indeed, most apartments and houses have maids quarters. As you can imagine, even this co-dependent arrangement, based on money, is a relationship nonetheless and Gaggero does a spectacular job at capturing the intimacy of these two women.

The movie is a bit slow for the average viewer, but it's an outstanding film and worth seeing.