Negocios ocultos

... I have to be honest and say that before I sat down to watch, I hadn't given much thought to the subject, myself. Maybe it's the suburban boy in me. Often you don't notice the true depths of depravity to be found in most cities unless you actively go looking for it.

This happens to be about the underbelly of London; and what practises are reputed to - and may or may not - go on there. In this particular treatment, such activities are allowed to continue because the people caught up in them aren't citizens. 'Developed' society prefers to deny them a workable route of admittance for many of their circumstances;, so the best attitude seems to be to ignore how they have to live until such time as they go away. Of course, the logical outcome of such a way of thinking is a marked increase in illegal/immoral activity; but somehow the people who wish to turn a blind eye can't understand that eventually the overall effects will begin to seep onto THEIR doorstep... You do indeed tend to reap what you sow.

For those lucky enough to be ignorant of the sorts of happenings that take place on the streets, one can only say that this film is an eye-opener. Too often we walk around blind to the foreign nationals who do a lot of our menial jobs for us. It's not expected that we take notice of our cab drivers, chamber-maids, and yes; even our sex-slaves. Pity we don't pay more attention, because that often isn't ALL they do; and the burden of truth should heap shame on civilisation as a whole. These issues are handled brilliantly in "Dirty Pretty Things" by all of the creative team involved. See it to humble yourselves with this sobering reminder: The face you slap on your way up may belong to the same owner of the feet you're kissing at your lowest ebb.

"Dirty Pretty Things," a film directed by Stephen Frears is not quite a thriller, romance or a drama, but it does manage to fit all three successfully.

An illegal immigrant in London (Chiwetel Ejiofor), working a day job as a cab driver and a hotel clerk in the Baltic Hotel at nights, discovers a human heart stuck in the bottom of a hotel room toilet one night and worries about what goes on behind the closed doors of his hotel. In the meantime, he develops a friendship with an immigrant woman from Turkey (Audrey Tatou ) who is also just trying to get by first as a maid in the hotel, then, as a seamstress in a sweatshop.

Acting by everybody, especially by two leads is wonderful. I am so glad to see Tatou in the part very different from her Amelie. The story is gripping; and we see London the way we have not seen it before and did not even know that London exists.

An engrossing human drama, stylish noir, social commentary, lives of immigrants, characters study - with the characters deep, human, and very real. No cheap pulling the strings, no manipulation. As a result -one of the best films of the last year.

And that ending.... Fans of "Lost in Translation" - watch "Dirty Pretty Things", and then we'll talk about what the good ending is.

`Dirty Pretty Things' is a thriller interrupted by a love story. The immigrant Brit working class is sometimes depicted by this film's director Stephen Frears (`My Beautiful Laundrette'); the native Brits are often championed by Mike Leigh (`Secrets and Lies'). In both cases, the kitchen sink realism does not fail to wake up middle-class Anglophiles like me.

Nigerian doctor Okwe hides in London behind 2 jobs as cabbie and night porter. He lives with, but does not sleep with, Turkish chambermaid Senay (played by `Amelie's' Audrey Tautou). Though they both hide from immigration officials, they cannot hide from their love. Okwe remains loyal to his Nigerian wife and daughter, and Senay has enough surviving to do to keep herself from Okwe.

After he finds a human heart in a hotel room, his own heart is changed forever. He becomes aware of low-life trafficking in organs and aware that as a doctor he could relieve many pains by helping the transplant operations. When the bloody business hits home, Frears lets us suffer with Okwe while he decides if his conventional morality can adjust to the underworld's impossible demands. The decision is not easy because his boss, Sneaky (the talented Sergi Lopez from `With a Friend like Harry'), regales him with the sophistry that crime like this is good for everyone involved (for instance, a doctor performing an operation rather than letting a hack do damage).

My worldly-wise companion and I debated Okwe's dilemma without a firm conclusion about the ethics of this end justifying the means. Frears caught us in the middle-class complacency of professionals who easily trip to London not even thinking about the workers who will attend to us--those shadow people we will never see, the disenfranchised a heartbeat away from jail or deportation. As for their love lives, who has time?

The screenwriter, Steven Knight, created the original Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? `Dirty' is leagues away from that fantasy game show, but then again the immigrants of this film are just as much moved by the slim chance of finding a home somewhere in the world.

It's the love story between Okwe and Senay that entrances me. I can't remember when I was so pleased by seeing the power of mutual respect turning into love and impossibility as I have been here. Of course, the consummate acting is a big help (You'll completely forget airhead Amelie when you see Tautou out of Paris and in the streets of London).

`Dirty Pretty Things' is an example of excellent filmmaking art without artifice.

A thoroughly engaging film which I would have no hesitation in recommending. Other reviewers have given away the major elements of the plot which may mean that you may find that it takes time to "cut to the chase" if you read the comments here before you see it. You are better off seeing this film "cold" knowing neither the plot nor the players. It does tend to get a bit goarey towards the end, but not without reason. A well written, superbly acted (especially by the two leads) and expertly directed work that makes you continue to believe that cinema can still be political and make important points without hitting you over the head with a blunt instrument. My only minor crib would be the accents which can be difficult to decipher or in Tatou's case slightly off (her character is supposed to be Turkish but the accent is more Eastern European).

First off I want to say that I'm not going to write about neither the plot nor the contents of this film, while it's rather unnecessary.

The best way to describe "Dirty pretty things", is in my opinion, that it is like a beautiful poem. It flows easily and because of the fact that the cast are such good actors/actresses, almost every scene in the film affects you in some way.

This is certainly not another Hollywood flick, because of the fact that it is so realistic. At times you actually forget that you are watching a film.

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou, Sergi López and the rest of the brilliant cast were new to me but I am going to keep following their careers, as I am hopeful that they will rise and get recognized for the great actors that they are.

I strongly recommend this film, for it is most certainly like a breath of fresh air in the otherwise monotonous movie jungle...

I easily give this film a 9 out of 10.