Katja is the quintessential "not available" female. She's barely available on the job, almost not available to her lover Hendrik, and certainly not available at all to her abject father. She flies thru life, we don't get to see her achieve anything, but she sure is busy. Hendrik is the classic intellectual "no load", taking up space on the planet, using the planets resources of air, water and food, but producing nothing, not even writing. He does provide a compliant and supportive base for Katja, who is the sole breadwinner. Saida is elusive to us. She starts out without makeup, with drab clothing, etc and appears to be consistent with her status of illegal immigrant doing menial tasks. However, as her relationship with Hendrik unfolds, she grows in appearance, ultimately we see her as a heartbreakingly beautiful, vulnerable, and utterly desirable female. We NEVER get to deduce her motives nor all of her emotions, she remains an alluring mystery to us. There is a twist ending, one that to me is representative of real life, and I won't reveal that to you, better see the film. It's worth it.
