Chambermaid

Mariana Cengel-Solcanská’s lush period romance Chambermaid is a study of socioeconomic classes and misogyny set at the eve of World War I. Teenage Anka (Dana Droppová) is sent by her stepfather from her home in a Slovakian village to work as a maid in a wealthy Prague household. Her primary duty is to be a handmaid to the family’s rebellious daughter, Resi (Radka Caldová), who is nearly the same age as Anka. While Anka sees this as exile from her pastoral life at home, the head maid, Líza (Vica Kerekes) shows her that she has, in fact, moved up in the world. 

At first, Resi is cruel and capricious, but she warms to Anka, and they become friends and lovers. Of course, Resi is soon married off to a young man from a good family with good prospects named Gustav (Cyril Dobrý), despite her loathing of him. Anka helps her through the wedding. When Resi returns from her honeymoon, the two women rekindle their passion. Anka winds up seeing Resi through a difficult pregnancy, and helps Resi deal with the grave disappointment of the entire family when the baby is female. Gustav openly hates the child.

When the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparks the powder-keg of World War Gustav is called to battle. He goes with visions of glory in his head. His absence gives Anka and Resi space to luxuriate in each other’s company, while Anka looks after the child. Resi never warms to the baby and Anka becomes her de-facto mother. When Gustav returns from war a shattered man, wounded and drunk, the fantasy of glorious victory is gone. He becomes vicious and barbaric towards Resi. 

“…At first, Resi is cruel and capricious, but she warms to Anka, and they become lovers…”

As the drama unfolds, it slowly becomes clear to Anka that the strictures of a patriarchy focused on wealth, the rules of society, and the conventions of war leave women with no agency. In fact, as Anka grows in knowledge and experience, she discovers that her low social status gives her freedom in ways that Resi will never know. Women in this context are treated as chattel, but a woman with no family name from a country village flies under the radar and can do more or less as she pleases. 

Cengel-Solcanská delivers a Downton Abbey/Upstairs Downstairs drama as a backdrop to the love story of Anka and Resi. The casual disregard of the lower classes is shocking to modern sensibilities, as is the treatment of women. 

The film is not in a hurry to give up its secrets. With a close to two-hour runtime, the viewer is encouraged to linger in the moments. Ladislav Janostak’s cinematography makes this a pleasant prospect. The countryside vistas are beautiful, as is the manor house that sets the tale. Cengel-Solcanská doesn’t shy away from sex in this tale. Seemingly, everyone in the house is doing it, and in some cases with other people who actually want to. The lord of the house, played by Karel Dobrý, is banging Líza. The carriage driver, Stefan (Lukas Pelc), is down for whatever and has an open invitation out to all the maids, and of course, Anka and Resi are often shown in intimate moments.  

Chambermaid is an engaging, languid look at the romance between two women who are both stuck in prescribed roles, and how the force of will and a sharp mind can make the most of the moment.