dirty pretty things

i discovered a gem of a movie last night.

the past week has been one of the busiest weeks i had at work - and i don't see it stopping until the end of july. but at least i got work to worry about, eh? so, am not really griping... just trying to write a lead to this post :)

anyway, i was home early last night. 9pm i was there in my couch, slumped in front of my tv with nothing much to see. and it's partly my fault why my tv has been basically transformed into a display item in my living room these days - lol.

last month, in the spirit of the recession, i had my cable downgraded from the middle basic to the basic basic programming - meaning, i only get the local channels, one cnn channel, food network (like i care), national geographic, and more than 10 spanish language channels! oh, betty la fea is on one of those channels, and every night at 11pm, i religiously sit through an hour of moving images pretending that i am following the story. so funny, i can still remember how chinchin does betty's voice in the filipino version.

anyway (again!) lol. i was supposed to go out and meet with a friend but i got lazy. i didn't wanna do my laundry... oh, i could have gone to edwards and watch angels & demons but i thought i'd just defer it until next week, that way i could sneak in to terminator or star trek - i did not tell you that, k? lol.

so, there i was... more bored than bored - it's that bad, lol. so, i hopped in my car, drove to the corner video rental and rented this 2002 audrey taotou (she's amelie) film called dirty pretty things for a buck! :) it's in the corner of bellflower and somerset blvd, if you are curious...

i so wanted to watch this movie for the longest time and i finally got to see it last night. and boy, was i floored! the movie is amazing!

french beauty audrey stars as senay, a turkish immigrant living illegally in london. she shares an apartment with okwe (played by the handsome - and one of the best actors ever - chjwetel ejiofur), who is himself an illegal immigrant from nigeria. they both work in the same hotel until immigration agents started pursuing senay whom they rightfully suspect of working illegally.

the movie is a gritty and disturbing thriller set amidst london's illicit body parts trade and the woeful existence of illegal immigrants who are subjected to numerous acts of abuses.

director stephen frears (the queen) has masterfully created london's underbelly that is not so far different from a city one would be all-too familiar with. there's the crook hotel manager who runs the illegal body part trade and a taxi operator who always gets afflicted with std. there's this disgusting sweat shop operator who forces his employees to perform oral sex on him or he will report them to immigration - what an apalling character! of course, there's a hardworking whore with a heart of gold, too!

okwe and senay navigate through this dreadful existence with almost a singular goal: to be able to save enough and get away from it all.

i was up until 3am today watching this masterpiece. it's got a satisfying conclusion (although my sentimental side wished it was something else) that drew me to ponder on how okwe's and senay's story would have played out at this point if it were real. i know, i always lose myself in the movies i see.

watch it on dvd. you'll not be disappointed.