Strengthening his unique cinematographic vision, Luis Ortega surpasses his previous works in his third and latest feature, The Dirty Saints. His debut, Black Box, presented a fresh and tender voice, very different from those of his contemporaries in Argentina who were more focused on a socially conscious type of cinema. He followed with Monobloc, a jarring and intentionally incomprehensible view of modern reality. The Dirty Saints takes many of the elements that made Monobloc so appealing – sound, unexpected camera movement and provocative locations – and combines them with some of the humanity evident in Black Box, creating a vision of our destiny that is at once troubling and hopeful.
The film is set sometime in the future, at the end of a war and possibly the end of our civilization. There are few survivors left, and nobody knows how long it has been since the fighting finished. Cielo (played by Ortega himself) never leaves the side of his companion Rey (Alejandro Urdapilleta). They travel together at night through a ruinous and deserted landscape, hiding from soldiers. The pair join a small group on a quest to cross the Fijman River, but though they journey together, it is obvious that each is painfully alone. The only one to stay behind is Monito (Martina Juncadella), a creature desperate for love and affection, not yet ready to leave humanity behind for an unknown future.
Ortega's approach is anarchic and unexpected. Incorporating influences from Tarkovsky's Stalker, the film likewise transcends science fiction, working as a commentary on humankind's deepest anxieties and questions about our very existence. Ultimately, though, The Dirty Saints is a film about spiritual and physical exodus. Our five travellers decide to cross to the other side of the river, preferring to discover the unknown rather than wait on Earth, in a Godot-like stasis, for nothing to happen and no one to arrive.
Diana Sanchez
Luis Ortega was born in Buenos Aires and attended film school there at the Universidad del Cine. He wrote the screenplay for his feature directorial debut,
Black Box (02), when he was nineteen years old. His second feature,
Monobloc (05), screened at the Festival in 2005.
The Dirty Saints (09) is his latest film.