Empire of Dirt

Empire of Dirt is a rather clichéd tale, the story of drop-out single mom Lena who, despite managing to get herself clean and working as a community leader for other struggling aboriginal youth, finds herself struggling to support her troubled teenage daughter. When her resources run out she returns to the town of her birth and reconnects with the family and friends she was once so quick to let go of as a pregnant teenage mother so many years ago.

Despite the trite storyline which neatly skips over the usual beats of the story, the movie is somewhat rescued by the lovely performance of its three leads. Newcomer Cara Gee appears in nearly every frame of the movie and acts natural and graceful and Shay Eyre as her teenage daughter Peeka matches her beat for beat with the two having a believable mother/daughter chemistry.

The movie is also lovingly shot and the camera luxuriates on the outdoor beauty of the town of Lena's birth.

If you want to be thoroughly depressed, don't miss this movie. It hits home on all eight cylinders. For starters, the story itself is just sad. A mom, who had a baby when she was a teen, is taking care of her 13-year old daughter. They're just barely scraping by. She ends up getting fired from her cleaning job and is forced to look for someplace to live. And as if that wasn't[t bad enough, her daughter is a nasty, ungrateful little so-and-so. You just want to smack her, she's such an ill-mannered kid. And frankly, what made the movie even worse, is there wasn't a likable character in the entire movie. They all were horrible people.

If there's anything positive about the film, the acting was pretty decent. I guess it takes a special talent to make someone despicable on the big screen.

Ugh!

Movie-Junkie-Mark.

Another user noted that the storyline is somewhat cliched, that is technically true, but in the context of this film it's entirely intentional. The grander framework of the film is one of the most well-known drama cliches but it's the diversions from this--in Native values, viewpoints, and social issues--that are the point of the piece. The main character even calls herself a cliche at one point making it clear that that is only the canvass of the story, the Native perspectives are the paint.

Some of the issues brought up are very real for modern Native folks. The unknowing eye may miss just how much of a threat child services is, even when one is a great parent. The main character Lena is an objectively good an objectively good mother (patient with her teenager, giving back to the community, working hard) yet society continues to treat her as though she is something less. Lena is expertly (despite being a newcomer!) portrayed by Cara Gee in a natural, convincing manner. The only thing that may be truly cliched about the film is the way the teenage daughter interacts with other characters (I believe this is from the writing, as the acting of this part despite the writing is outstanding), and it's quite possible that even that was done to streamline the story so that the viewer could concentrate on the lens of the Native woman at its center.

Honestly, this is a beautifully done story of finding peace. There does not need to be any particular ending. It would easily be 10 stars, especially in light of the acting, but I'm removing just one because I would have liked to have seen the daughter's arc fleshed out a little more. Just adding one more interaction at the end could have done this (although in hindsight I think the fishing scenes were trying to accomplish this). Overall outstanding take on one of our most beloved motifs for film.

66/100 Empire of Dirt has scattered narratives and lack of control that is not unusual with stories and perspectives that rarely get explored and told. It's a case of trying to include too many things because one rarely gets the chance to. Among its problems are certain threads that were under-explored and a confusing time jump, but the subject matter and issues definitely make it more than worth the effort. Jennifer Podemski is especially excellent as Minnie. She had this incredible presence and extreme believability.