21 December 2021

Chel White's Dirt (1998)

Dirt is a bizarre, surreal, four-minute short starring, written and narrated by Joe Frank. We first see him in a restaurant, and he tells us about his obsession with dirt (meaning soil). It began in childhood, when kids judged who could put the most dirt in their ears, noses and mouths. While the others vomited, the narrator never did and always won. Later, he would bury himself, delighting in the gritty earth. During the restaurant meal with a couple, we see him finding it necessary to have soil added to anything he eats. He grows tendrils, vegetables grow from his body, and he eats them, making him self-sustaining, he's his own eco-system, he is empowered. My only wonder is how many takes it took Joe Frank to tell this story without laughing.

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