Next time you're feeling overheated in the garden, consider ducking inside for some quality time with the AC and the DVD player. "Dirt! The Movie" is a fascinating, informative and sometimes funny documentary about the very stuff you're mucking about with outside.
It might not seem like the most compelling subject, but independent documentaries are often pleasant surprises. As a rule, they are labors of love - unfettered by concerns of commercial viability and made by people passionate about their subject.
Such is the case with "Dirt." Narrated by Jamie Lee Curtis, it combines new and archival footage with animation and interviews with scientists, scholars, agriculturalists and eco activists.
Of all the planets charted, we learn, Earth is the only one with a living, breathing skin. From here, the filmmakers explore the scientific, cultural and spiritual aspects of soil - and they make a pretty persuasive case.
An early segment details how all religions venerate the earth as life-giver - "dust to dust." But also from a purely scientific point of view, as several biologists point out, humans are made from the same molecules as dirt. Not the same kind of molecules - the exact same molecules, which have been cycling since the formation of the planet.
The film's second half delves into social and public policy issues concerning soil. The dangers of monoculture farming, industrial agriculture and strip mining are addressed with disturbing clarity. But as with similar eco alarmist films, such as "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Crude Impact," the film ends on a welcome note of optimism regarding alternative energy initiatives, organic farming and community supported agriculture programs.
One fascinating passage details how the natural cycles of decomposition that take place in soil can be harnessed as a renewable energy source with microbial fuel cells. Another details green initiatives in New York that are turning asphalt playgrounds and rooftops into gardens.
"Dirt! The Movie" is available via Netflix and other online rental services, or for purchase at www.neoflix .com/store/COM93 .
