La Nana (2009) is a Chilean and Mexican comedy drama directed by Sebastian Silva. The film stars Catalina Saavedra, who plays Raquel. The film was streamed online at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/7941997. La Nana follows the story of Raquel, who has been a maid for the same family for around 20 years. After experiencing headaches and dizziness, the family decides to hire another maid to help Raquel around the house. However, Raquel is confident that she is fine on her own, and tries her best to get these new recruits out of the picture. When one maid refuses to let Raquel get to her, Raquel learns that it is okay to have help sometimes, and makes a great new friend as well. Viewed at (00:43:56-00:48:30), in one of the most humorous parts of the film, Raquel is trying to chase away the newest maid in the household, Sonia. In her most recent attempt to make Sonia’s life miserable, Raquel locks her out of the house after sending her out to meet the grocer. This scene can also be viewed above. 

 

     Many different editing techniques are used throughout the film including match on action cuts, cuts that are native to the classical editing style. An example of this occurs when Sonia spots Raquel from outside of the house: the camera pans up to where Raquel is peering out the window, then cuts to Raquel inside the house as she quickly backs away from it. This quick cut surprises the audience as it is a quick change, especially following the duration of the previous shot outside the house. It also implies Raquel’s surprise as she is suddenly seen by Sonia. This builds tension in the scene, and continues to develop the tense relationship between Sonia and Raquel, as seen in the heated discussion that occurs earlier in the scene.

 

     Cutaways, also common in classical editing, are also very successfully utilized in this film. While Sonia is on top of the wall surrounding the family property, a cut to a shot of the children listening to music below occurs, before the scene cuts back to Sonia. This cutaway maintains audience interest by providing a change of scenery, and gives a glimpse of what is happening at the same time in another area. This cutaway is effective as it is easy to tell that each action shown is happening at the same time. It also represents the urgency Sonia feels as it is clear that the children will not hear her up on the roof.

 

     The pace of the editing in this scene is also very effective. One example of this is the shot following Raquel who is looking through the window at Sonia. As Raquel looks out the window, the camera pans to see what she is looking at, then back to her. As Raquel leaves the room, the camera pans back to Sonia through the window. The duration of this shot and the movements within it signify that Raquel is trying to be sneaky and stay hidden. This point of view technique builds suspense as the viewer feels as though they are spying on Sonia with Raquel; its gives the viewer a sense that they are part of the scene. The following shot is of Sonia who is walking around outside the house, trying to get back in. This is another long shot in duration, signifying Sonia’s urgency to get back into the house as the camera rushes behind her. This is a very good example of the successful pace that is used in the editing in this film.

 

     This scene in La Nana demonstrates the successful use of editing. It is filled with shots of long duration, broken up with match on actions and cutaways. Even with the slow pace of the editing, these techniques create tension and reveal character feelings and relationships all throughout the scene. This scene is a great example of the humour in La Nana, and is very useful when exploring the effectiveness of editing techniques.