Let me explain my comment above. So far on IMDb, I have reviewed over 1000 films but am more torn over this review than almost any of the previous ones. That's because the fundamental plot device, people selling kidneys on the black market to get fake passports, just seems too wild to have even a grain of truth. As a result, I did a little bit of research. I already knew that some people in India had apparently sold organs (at least according to the BBC),but also know there are a lot of urban legends about the sale and theft of organs that are widely believed but not at all true (such as rumors of Westerners going to 3rd world countries to "adopt" kids just to harvest their organs). So, although I felt stuck about this plot element, not everyone will react that way (I guess I think too much some times). If you suspend disbelief, it's a much better movie.

Now as for the film, I feel that the real stand out star is Chiwetel Ejiofor as "Okwe". Although he is a relative newcomer, he was great i the lead role--handsome, believable and a heck of an actor. On the other hand, although I know many loved Audrey Tautou, I felt while she is a decent actress, she was wrong for the role. Although her command of English is excellent, she was expected to play a Turkish Immigrant and her accent was all wrong. Instead, it would have made a lot more sense to have her play an Algerian or Tunesian refugee, as her accent would have made a lot more sense since these were former French colonies--you just wouldn't expect to hear a French accent in Turkey! The writing and direction, aside from my complaint about the believability of the plot, were excellent and really kept my interest. While at times it was very hard to watch the film due to the harsh realities of daily life for illegal immigrants or immigrants working illegally, it IS a problem so it is definitely fair game for a movie. However, this is one of the LEAST kid-friendly films I've seen in some time, because the plot is very very adult, so I would strongly caution parents not to let their kids see this film.

Nigerian illegal immigrant Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) drives a cab in London during the day and works the hotel reception at night. Juliette (Sophie Okonedo) is a prostitute who frequents the hotel. Okwe finds a heart flushed down a hotel toilet. Senay Gelik (Audrey Tautou) is a Turkish Muslim asylum seeker who cleans at the hotel off the books. She isn't allowed to work or collect rent. Okwe is staying at Senay's but she's always worried about him being found at her place. He's a doctor who sometimes works illegally. When hotel manager Juan finds out that Okwe is a doctor, he tries to coerce him to join his illegal organ transplant scheme. Meanwhile Senay is hounded by 2 immigration officers.

There are essentially two movies at play. There is a thriller which works but there is also the underworld of the illegals. I found that underworld very interesting at first but it keeps overshadowing everything else. At times, it feels like a diatribe against the treatment of illegals than a drama. If that's what it's going for, then the movie can simply drop the organ transplant bit. The treatment of illegals would be dramatic enough without it. Also it could replace it with drugs and that would be more realistic. If it's going for a thriller, then the illegal immigrant drama can be reduced to the background. The immigration officers and the sex coercion all feels unnecessary.

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.