MAYA GALLUS

Bil’s rating (out of 5):   BBBB. 

Canada, 2010.  Red Queen Productions.  Screenplay by Maya Gallus.   Cinematography by Harald Bachman.   Produced by Maya Gallus.  Music by Keir Brownstone.  Film Editing by David Kazala.  

The world of table service is examined in this documentary that takes a look specifically on women who wait tables. Director Maya Gallus films a truck stop in Belleville, a diner in Toronto, a couple of fetish restaurants in Tokyo, a topless restaurant in Montreal, a bistro in Paris, and gourmet eateries in the last two cities to see how female servers fit into the hierarchy of things. Women at the truck stop have been supporting their families for years with what they do; at the swanky places it is frowned upon to have women working as servers, as customers tend to prefer men to do such authoritative work (though it seems some inroads are being made by the ladies). Far from being filler jobs which require little skill, this film forces us to face the fact that the people who perform this particular career are fulfilling a service to humanity and that you might just be the nightmare customer that they complain about. It’s a marvelous triptych and thoroughly entertaining.