Sukienka

"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 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.

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.

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.