MovieChat Forums > Io sono l'amore (2010) Discussion > Scene of the maid sobbing

Scene of the maid sobbing


For me one of the most intense scenes was the scene at the end of the maid crying her heart out. (Not sure what the official term is for her job, so I am calling her the maid.)

Any thoughts on why the filmmakers focused so much on that scene? Up until that point, the maid had seemed a fairly incidental character. (Or maybe I should say that until that point the character had seemed to be there just for atmospherics rather than to advance the story.)

reply

I think her physical breakdown was symbolic of the breakdown of the delicate social structure that had been created over the generations and was falling apart before her eyes. The "modern" influences of love, freedom and happiness had eroded the strict traditional social fabric of the society that had dictated the maid's role from the start. Perhaps she was crying because she knew no other role than to serve, and now that world was crumbling down and she didn't know what to do. Perhaps she was crying because she became aware of all the years that she had subjugated her own happiness to serve others, and now it was too late. Perhaps she was crying because she was happy for Emma, yet sad to see her "Mistress" leave.

It's open to interpretation, but it's a moving scene and an important one. I'm glad you called attention to it.

reply

She was crying because the only two people in the family who acknowledged her and treated as a fellow human being were gone (Eduardo) or leaving (Emma).

reply

Two interesting interpretations, from kaskait and MikeGrossman. Both entirely plausible, but on a certain level, both very different.

reply

Yes, two wonderful posts. This thread reminded me of an article I just read in the New Yorker about the conflicted lives of several Filipino women who came to the U.S. to be nannies because there's no way to earn a living back home. They send back all their earnings but end up completely devoting their emotional lives to their new families.

reply

Incredible and emotive scene

reply

Did you also watch it on bbc, Established1981?


by
MikeGrossman34» IMDb member since September 2005I think her physical breakdown was symbolic of the breakdown of the delicate social structure that had been created over the generations and was falling apart before her eyes. [... ]
Perhaps she was crying because she was happy for Emma, yet sad to see her "Mistress" leave.

by
kaskait»
She was crying because the only two people in the family who acknowledged her and treated as a fellow human being were gone (Eduardo) or leaving (Emma).




great posts

reply