A stack of dirty espresso cups. Sheets bunched up, and an empty condom packet on the bed. A wastebasket overflowing with garbage. And the mostly female migrant workers — from southern Italy, eastern Europe, and north and west Africa — who clean it all up.
PERSONALE is set at a four-star hotel in northeastern Italy — a luxurious spot in the Dolomite Mountains, where guests come to ski, swim, and relax. But instead of the scenery, the film focuses on the unseen: the housekeeping staff who are at the bottom of the hotel hierarchy, and whose work is absolutely essential.
Filmed over six weeks, PERSONALE is a snapshot of behind-the-scenes intensity, punctuated by the repetitive rhythms and hard physical labor of washing, folding, scrubbing, and changing bedding. Glimpses of the workers’ personal lives and challenges emerge too: a Ukrainian refugee from the war, who often seems on the verge of tears. Two Russian-speaking women comparing notes on how to maintain their manicures. Muslims discussing the challenges of Ramadan.
Housekeeping is understaffed, and the workers commiserate over workload and time off. But they also bicker, argue over who cleans the toilets, and break off into their own language groups. A well-run hotel is an immaculate world of its own. PERSONALE immerses us in the view few guests ever see.