In the recent years, we have seen some content about domestic workers in Asia, with two episodes in “Food Lore” series for example, highlighting the concept, along with a number of documentaries that have been circulating the festival circuit. Vietnamese Nguyen Duy Anh comes up with his own version on the subject, through a film that manages to appear as sci-fi, despite the fact that it is not at all.
A Cleaning Service won the Shorts Award at the Alternativa Film Awards
The story of the 18-minute short revolves around an early morning radio program, featuring female technology domestic workers. One of them, Ms Lai, is a trainer, explaining the nature of her work and that of cleaners in general, while another, Nguyen Kieu Anh, an expert in aromas, is welcomed to divulge a formula for a soothing steam bath. While they talk, we also watch segments from the everyday lives of domestic workers.
Nguyen Duy Anh directs a film that presents the concept quite thoroughly, essentially starting from how these women start their day, until the moment they finish their jobs and return home. Ms Lai is more hands-on, talking about the personal issues they occasionally face and the misconception about their job, while Kieu Anh focuses on her recipe. While the two women are talking, sequences from workers appear on the screen, through rather different approaches, as the movie combines the essence of the sci-fi, the comedy and the surrealistic, while retaining a subtle notion of drama throughout.
The result, in a testament to Nguyen Duy Anh’s directorial prowess and his excellent editing, which connects the different sequences here in a way that is both informative and playful. The desaturated cinematography by Nguyen Quang Vinh on the other hand, is the factor responsible for the dystopian/sci-fi aspect of the movie, in an approach that actually works rather well. The acting has a particular rhythm that matches the cuts, with the way the various domestic workers are presented reminding of silent-cinema, also in the way, a sense of hilarity is communicated through them.
“A Cleaning Service” is a little gem of a film, one that manages to highlight its main subject eloquently, through a different approach that remains entertaining from beginning to end.