The Dress

(1996) De jurk/ The Dress (In Dutch with English subtitles) COMEDY DRAMA

Music, co-produced, written and directed by Vincent van Warmerdam dwelling the entire movie on a particular dress from the time it was thought up to the time it was developed. And as soon as it is purchased from a middle age lady, and out of chance, it gets blown away while it was hung up to dry on a clothing line. To it being discovered and then worn by a passerby (Ariane Schluter). And it becomes much more weird, when the ticket collector, Van Tilt (Henri Garcin) who works in a train becomes entranced by the dress to the extent of falling in love with anyone who wears it. As Joanne (Ariane Schluter) was wearing it on the train as she was heading straight home. She was hoping her painter husband would pay more attention to her, and the only thing that it did was motivate him to paint it on to his canvas.

This one absurd scene describes this movie at its best: Young woman, sleeping in her bed. Door of her room opens. Strange man walks in and steps into her bed. She wakes up in a state of shock. Man puts hand on het mouth and says: ssssshhhhh... it's ok, don't worry! It's only the ticket taker...

This will be the fifth film I have watched by Alex van Warmerdam and they have all been strange no doubt and they have all been good except for Little Tony which was ok but didnt compare to the others.

The first film I saw of his was Borgman several years ago and it has always stuck with me. Like all of his movies, different, strange, odd, surreal. The Dress is another somewhat surreal tale that follows a dress from its conception through the manufacturing process, and as it is worn by its various possessors. Most of those who came in contact with the dress came to some mischief. If Grimm would have been rated PG, then this one would probably have to be R, with a good bit of nudity, adult situations, and a certain creep factor. With these five films under my belt, I can definitely say I am a fan of the director's work. Quite an interesting filmmaker with a unique vision. I have several more of his films all queued up.

Tales of Manhattan had a tuxedo. The Dress has a dress. There the similarity ends. What follows if a very smart, often disturbing parade of lives of people who happen to come in contact with a particularly hideous dress. It arouses unexpected, overwhelming lust in some, nothing in others, but it's a sure bet that if you have the dress you're in for something strange and probably not very pleasant.

The intriguing threads that bind this tapestry of frustrated longing together are a failed textile manufacturer and an obssessed ticket taker, who voices the movies' sad and in his case, misapplied motto: "I'm normal!" Here everyone and no one is.

The wit is subtle and sharp as a scalpel. All actors are excellent--especially unnerving is van Warmerdam himself as the doomed ticket taker. Pay very close attention to the faces and names of characters. They are sign posts for things to come.

The director Alex van Warmerdam is known in Holland for his film "Abel", a comedy about a man who refused to grow up and who still lives with his parents, at the age of 26. The film, "De jurk" (the dress) also starts out like a comedy, but the longer you watch, the less you feel the need to laugh. The lives of unrelated people touch because of the dress and totally unrelated events suddenly fit into the story because of the dress. I could not discover a message in the film, probably because there is none. I found the film very entertaining, but was surprised that it turned out rather black and grim.