What it’s about
After a series of misfortunes following a divorce leave her in tough financial straits, 58-year-old Buenos Aires socialite Mrs. Beba (Aleandro) is forced to suspend payments to Dora (Argentina), the woman who has kept house for her for 35 years. Wanting to make good, she takes a job selling beauty products door to door, but Dora eventually loses her patience and moves in with a boyfriend. Yet after three decades under the same roof, their relationship is not so easy to sever.
Why we love it
This light satire of class relations in contemporary Argentina is also, at its heart, the story of an intimate relationship that’s based on, and then transcends, artificial social boundaries. As circumstances bring Mrs. Beba into a position similar to Dora’s, their dynamic shifts, and Dora takes on a kind of caretaking role that surpasses household duties. Gaggero handles it all with poignant, tone-perfect humor and genuine affection for his aging characters, while holding up a reflecting mirror to his society’s blunt hypocrisies. Let “Live-In Maid” work some magic in your home!