Excellent, Without a doubt!!

One of those movie experiences that is so good it makes you realize you've been grading everything else on a curve.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Set in the depression era, 'Ask the Dust' follows the story of a young aspiring Italian-American writer who gradually falls for a feisty immigrant waitress. The best thing about 'Ask The Dust' is Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek. Not only do they share an electric chemistry but their scenes together are the highlight of the film because of their restrained performances. Their scenes are a delight to watch.The film could have easily ended up being like a telenovella or soap opera but the two actors play their parts naturally and writer/ director Robert Towne manages to avoid romantic clichés as he lets the relationship flourish on screen. Even the love scene is suitably 'delayed' and brilliantly executed. The photography is beautiful. One of the best scenes is when Arturo and Camilla run towards the waves. While both are completely naked, the director manages to maintain the innocence of that scene without throwing in clichés.If only the film had more room for the story to develop. Many of the subplots and even the ending appeared rushed. The supporting characters, like Sutherland's Helfrick and Menzel's Rifkin, although interesting (and performed brilliantly) are poorly written. The political message that 'Ask The Dust' tries to deliver is also slightly misleading. However, Colin Farrell and Salma Hayek made this one at least worthy of a one-time watch for me.

I don't know why most IMDb reviews tend to say every movie is garbage. Ask the Dust was not one of them. It is excellent! It is very funny at some parts and it has great performances from Salma, Colin and Idina above all. It is full of passion, spirit and logical things. The script is a very good one. Everything they said made sense and was very intelligent. I personally enjoyed very much the discussion scenes between Colin and Salma. They were awesome! This picture deserved much more support and more objective comments! The book might be better than the film, but still, this film is very romantic and passionate. It has those moments where human nature and romance comes into play, I love them. Salma and Colin fit for those roles perfectly. Anyone else suggesting other actors are ignorant fans of their own actors. Movie worth seeing. But if you are another IMDb critic, who doesn't know how to appreciate a good movie, then ...

Awful from the story, dialog, chemistry/acting stand point. If not for decorations and cloths, the movie should not get even 1. What a great promise from the previews. All you need to enjoy this piece is to watch the preview. The actors seem to not be into each other or their characters. I like both of them as actors but not in this movie. I am sure it was difficult to act with such poor dialogs and situations the character were placed in. I have felt more acting chemistry in a porn movie. I am very sorry this movie did not live up to its previews. Since my review has to be longer I am going to fill it in with nothing else, else nothing, nothing else, else nothing

The movie has the hallmark of old American writings, with lots of metaphors and big words for showing what is really everyday life. The script is original, unlike most of the films today, because is based on a book about the depression era in the US. The actors play very well and the images are very well done. I would venture to say the soundtrack was equally flawless, since it didn't bother me one bit (didn't really notice it, either).So what was wrong about the movie? I don't know. Maybe the pace, since it was two hours long. Or the subject, which was ... smooth. I mean, there were no real bumps in it. Everything just went by itself. In the tradition of "road writers" the character is almost an observer, left to his own emotions, but incapable of acting. I can't say that characters weren't original, but more in the direction of weirdly annoying rather than interesting.Bottom line: it's a drama. The romance itself is strong, not the diluted stuff you see nowadays, but I wouldn't call this a romantic movie. I suggest watching it when you feel philosophical or want something new, yet slow paced.