The Dress (2020) User Reviews

what is normal?

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 19 January 2022]

Greetings again from the darkness. For lonely folks, the dream of companionship is ever-present. Wondering if the right person will ever come along is a weighty burden to carry, and it's one that Julka has toted her entire life. Writer-director Tadeusz Lysiak and lead actor Anna Dieduszycka only need 29 minutes in this short film to convey the hope and pain that accompanies loneliness.

Ms. Dieduszycka gives a strong performance, and her dwarfism comes into play as Julka, a cleaning lady at a truck stop motel. Julka rarely smiles and only speaks when her co-worker and lone friend Renata (Dorota Pomykala) talks to her. Otherwise Julka is all about smoking and slot machines ... at least while she's not fantasizing about being "normal" and having true romance that leads to the loss of her virginity.

A truck driver named Bogdan (Szymon Piotr Warszawski) shows some legitimate interest in getting to know her better, and Julka's excitement mirrors that of a schoolgirl. Filmmaker Lysiak places Julka in a situation that seems to be her ideal romantic encounter - a sure sign that life rarely allows these moments to play out as we hope, which ironically, provides her with a taste of the downside of normalcy. The film is from Poland, and it earned the honor of being Oscar nominated.

Crushing

[Neon_Gold · 7/10 · 8 February 2022]

I'm so disappointed because up until the last five minutes i was going to give this movie like 9 maybe even 10. I was engaging, I loved that the film maker took a subject that isn't spoke about and shown it in a way that humanises people with dwarfism. I know what a crazy thought. But normally characters like this are relegated to jokes and parodies so it was lovely to see that this film was so human.

The romance and hope I was all in! I was just so happy and like invested but then the movie decided to completely implode on its self and destroy everything it spent the past 20 minutes building.

It was crushing. Which might have been the directors idea which is why I still liked this short. It was just so painful and chastising. It would have been lovely to end on hope.

A short film - yet a powerful one

[joepm28 · 8/10 · 2 April 2022]

"The Dress" may be only 30 minutes, yet it pack more heart and punch in that time than most full length films. Julia, a virgin dwarf who works in a Polish road side truck stops, is lonely until a 'normal' trucker, Bogdan, strikes up a conversation with her that seems to be more than the usual put downs she has to deal with. The rest must be seen to appreciate the films depth. It's just great.

a gem

[Kirpianuscus · 8 January 2022]

A maid in a rundown motel, her friend, a truck driver and a drop of Bovarysm. The great virtue of film - the acting , especially admirable young Anna Dzieduszycka. At the first sigh, a film about first, terrible sexual experience, bitterness of marriage, friendship, dream/ desire becoming true in awful manner. The splendid detail - the untold stories, only suggested but in sketches with precise traits. Short, authentic gem.

Slice of Dwarf Life

[mightofthesun · 7/10 · 30 March 2022]

This short film will do its job by getting you invested quickly. You will feel for Julka. You will want good things to happen to her. You will think it's going to lead somewhere. Is this a spoiler? It just ends.

Standard !

[thestraitfilm · 7/10 · 22 August 2022]

An acceptable idea and storytelling.

I was with the main character of the story until the final moments. I was saddened by the tensions in the lives of these types of people, and an unfortunate truth was revealed to me.

Absolutely the BEST of the 2021-Release (in US) Short Films

[stevehc-05118 · 10/10 · 8 April 2022]

• I'd seen ALL of the major live action short films released in the US in 2021 and hands-down this one was the best - and quite remarkable not only for its VERY human disability-related subject matter but also given that it was essentially a film student project when it was actually made. The acting by all was particularly spectacular.

Most depressing movie of year

[trimblair · 6/10 · 17 April 2023]

Wow, I thought "The Whale" was depressing. This is even more so. A movie about a little person who longs to be a normal size woman. She has a depressing job in a depressing town with one friend to her name. Her boss is a jerk like many. She wants a man. Her life is a shampoo, rinse, repeat affair where every day is groundhog day. The director uses grey screen and music to further the sad, dismal, dark story. Would like to recommend this but it is a sad movie about a sad situation in a sad setting with sad music and a sad sad sad. Do not recommend. Do not think anyone should see this. Sad and sad.

A private look into the life of someone with dwarfism

[lorimariej · 10/10 · 8 April 2022]

A strong performance by an extraordinary actress about the ordinary life of one little person. So well played by Anna Dieduszycka. The story is a real one for so many, tall or short. 10 stars to the writer, Tadeusz Lysiak and 10 stars to all actors in this film.

Had a hard time in winning me over

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 17 March 2022]

"Tadeusz Lysiak" is a Polish Polish-language live action short film from 2020 and two years later this managed to get nominated for an Oscar. The writer and director was Tadeusz Lysiak and this is definitely a huge success for him. Three is indeed a charm as he has worked on two other short films before this one here. Lead actress Anna Dzieduszycka also deserves a mention. I personally had a difficult time in finding her character as likable as they wanted the audience to perceive her, but I will get a little later to the plot here. I cannot say too much otherwise about the actors really, simply because I do not know them. It was not a black-and-white film by the way like other Polish Oscar-nominated works lately, but still very bleak overall, also in terms of colors. I personally would say this was an okay watch, but I preferred three other nominees from the category this time. The title "The Dress" is a bit misleading for me because it feels too random. I mean surely the protagonist is discriminated against (or at least we should think she is discriminated against) in this scene when there is talk about the completely legitimate question if there is no place for small people to buy their clothes (okay, it was probably meant as provocation in a spiteful way), but I still felt that they could have picked a better title. The first half of the film did very little for me, but in the second half I cared about the protagonist when she was really down and says she is sick of people staring at her because of her size, because of her face etc. Appreciate your health, folks.

One reason why I give this film not only four stars in the end was the biggest supporting actress Dorota Pomykala, the one who plays a colleague and friend and how she manages to cheer up the main character after these words was really nicely written and acted. Well done! The anti-male hate speech was too much though. You can also see that these women trust each other, even if they have conflicts sometimes, with one telling the other she has never had sex. In the end, there is also no happiness. The main character finally lost her virginity, but it wasn't a pleasant experience at all because again she got discriminated against. Sobering stuff. But the film shines also during smaller moments like when the best friend talks about her husband. He is not the one she imagines when thinking of a great guy. He is even a woman beater apparently. So the other female character in this short film also has her own burden for sure, but she is the most loyal friend nonetheless. At pretty much exactly half an hour, this is the second-longest from the nominees this year. I actually think this also could have worked as a full feature at 1.5 hours or so. Who knows, maybe it will happen one day. I would not be surprised Does it have a chance to win the Oscar this year? Sure, why not? They all do sort of. The anti-discrimination aspect could help the film, but I still doubt the Academy is as big on making a statement pro dwarfism as they are in terms of racial issues. And deafness this year too. But you never know with the live action short film category. I would not be too satisfied if it wins, but to be honest I'd happily accept all four other nominees if the one I like the least is not winning. So good luck to Sukienka too and go check it out if you like. You will need subtitles of course, if you don't speak Polish. Very dialogue-driven.

Film wants to be more than it is

[theseekerhp · 4/10 · 2 March 2022]

The Dress is a short film in which Julka, a hotel maid with dwarfism, longs for romance, or at least a sexual experience. Julka has dealt with cruelty from strangers, and can be a little defensive about her size, but is capable of friendliness and soon attracts the interest of a truck-driving hotel guest. Things don't go as well as we hoped (actually, pretty awfully), and it would be interesting to know how this affects Julka, but unfortunately the filmmakers already used up the entire running time of the film with things that aren't very interesting.

Life is hard, and then we die

[Valid_ID · 1/10 · 23 March 2022]

This 30-min movie is about a small person, Julia, who is in her thirties and still a virgin. She's looking forward to correcting the situation, and encounters a truck driver who seems to reciprocate her interest. Sadly, that only last for one tryst. And that's all she wrote.

I imagine it's not easy for a small person to find a life partner; in fact, that's not easy for anyone.

The movie hints at how difficult is for any woman to find love, as Julia's coworker, a well-formed woman, abhors her husband, and a hotel guest at Julia's work place, a gorgeous young woman, is seen crying in a state of undress, probably after sex.

The acting is fine, but I found the 30 minutes movie dragging on for too long. So my take on this is that a small person has the same hopes, and disappointments as all of us. Life is hard, and then we die.

Near perfect

[killercola · 21 March 2022]

Acting, storytelling, plot and character development are top notch. If you're looking for a quick watch check out this thirty minute gem. It's an original and well structured story that will make you happy and sad in a short amount of time.