Dirt

Dirt has it all - humor, pathos, sex, love, triumph and defeat. In short - it is the human story - one we all share, told in a compelling plot that draws you in from the first frame and keeps you going until the last. It is an immigrant story, to be sure, but it's power lies in it's ability to entertain and engage while exposing the often sad and difficult life of Central Americans working illegally in the US.

You will leave this picture feeling as if you have made new friends - and you will never look at a "cleaning lady" the same way. You will want to spend more time with your new friends and you will recognize a bit of yourself in them. It is not always easy to create a work that combines pathos with comedy - but Dirt does the job seamlessly. I hope Showtime releases this film so more people can see it.

I saw Dirt when it played at the 2005 Palm Springs International film Festival and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It somehow sounded interesting with it's single four letter word title and reading a brief synopsis on it I took a chance on it and it didn't take me long to realize that it was a good film. This isn't a big movie but it has a lot going for it thanks to it's Director Nancy Savoca. It does have that documentary feel about it. Julieta Ortiz as Delores is fantastic as the El Salvadoran woman working as a maid in the New York City and struggling to keep her life and family together while she keeps her eye on her goal of building a house back in her home country. Good character development in this movie. A lot of good humor found here too. I would rate it a 7.5 out of a possible 10 and recommend it.

People are still moving to the US for religious, social and monetary freedom, as our great great grandfathers had. This little peek into the "new immigrant's" lives is interesting and sad.

I think the problem is, many people who have seen this movie, like myself, are of like-mindedness, and they know what it is like to be struggling. . . That the extraordinarily wealthy (that there are so many more of these days), have no idea what these people go through. They don't know that these people penetrate their lives silently, an invisible population who are paid, but not paid attention to.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was simple, yet informational. I suggest it highly and believe that there are many people like the main character of Delores, who are fighting for their lives and their children's lives for survival in big cities all over the US.

Nancy Savoca, the tremendously talented director, surprises with this film in which she tackles a problem that is so prevalent, yet one hardly hears about it: illegal workers. In this case a maid, trying to make ends meet by working long hours doing what most of her wealthy clients will not do, cleaning and maintaining order in their homes, while pursuing their complicated lives.

Dolores is a Salvadoran woman who has entered the country illegally. She lives in Queens with her husband and son. We watch Dolores going through her daily routine cleaning an apartment of a rich family. Her daily life also include cleaning other richly decorated homes of the rich folks in Manhattan.

"Dirt" raises a lot of questions about the life of the people that are living illegally in the country and how they must struggle to stay afloat. These people are basically survivors because they must do what others don't want to do. Most illegal workers never receive the wages they deserve for the jobs they do.

Nancy Savoca and Richard Guay have written an extraordinary film. Our hearts go after Dolores, a good soul who wants to save for the dream house she is building in El Salvador, where the family will live eventually. The problems with raising her own son is also seen as one of the thorns in these immigrants sides because they are young and vulnerable and many will end up facing the law.

Julieta Ortiz as Dolores does a fabulous job in her portrayal of the Salvadoran woman who is going through a rough period in her life in America. The large, unknown cast, is excellent, but one must single out the charming Yvette Mercedes, who plays Dolores best friend.

Ms. Savoca achieves another triumph with this film that will be an eye opener for many viewers and how they perceive these poor people caught in what they thought would be their American dream.

I never finished watching this movie because I found it slow going and hard to follow with most of the dialogue in either Mexican or heavy Mexican accent, which is fine if you speak it or are used to the language. (At 1.30am a movie needs to be a little more interesting & easy to watch to command attention).

The other problem which didn't help was that my TV guide had the synopsis wrong - it was for a totally different movie, so I had no idea what this movie was meant to be about. This is why I came to IMDb after giving up watching, to look up and read others comments to find out what it was about and if I actually missed anything! Thank goodness for IMDb - it is only after reading the others comments that I could get a sense of the bigger picture of the story.

Without the benefit of being able to understand any language other than English (& a few French words), I found it hard to watch and frustrating not knowing what the actors were saying for the majority of the movie. Subtitles would have helped immensely.

Unfortunately, while I sympathise with the plight of the main character, I did not find it compelling watching.