Crappy film

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

"The Hairdresser's Husband" is made with such sincerity it is the only way to respond to it, so I'll start with a confession.I knew and dated many girls in my life and a few relationships reached the intimate level nothing original or to brag about so far. But among this gallery of female players in the scenery of my life, some of them fully satisfied personal fantasies. Let's say that I loved them on the basis of my personal idealization of the female body or personality. Fantasy-wise, they were just perfect but in each case, I gave the relationship up, surrendering to wisdom (I thought) and that became my motto "one cannot build his life on a fantasy". Was I true to myself or was I calling the grapes sour because I didn't have the guts to go as far the depths of my psyche were driving me to? I don't know. I'm just having a "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" marathon and as incongruous as the mention of "The Hairdresser's Husband" would feel among these titles, it's not that different. The film, directed by Patrice Leconte, is also about a man who surrenders to passions and goes as far as he can in order to fulfill his fantasy. And he builds a happy life on it.The man is Antoine, and he's played by Jean Rochefort who has just left the world a few days ago, and ever since his first sensual experience with a female hairdresser, he knew what he was born to do: marry one. Talk about a ludicrous premise! Yet there's never a moment where we have contempt for his choice, this is a film made with sincerity indeed. And yes, sexual tension is never as palpable as when you're a child because it is a time where you can't put words in what happens to your mind. When the eyes of Antoine cross this magnificent, round and voluptuous figure of a woman bosom, the epiphany hits him, nothing will ever be more sensual and perfect that this experience, so that will define his life.And his determination pays off when, as an adult, he goes to the hairdresser's shop, whose new owner is the beautiful Mathilde (Anna Galiena), she's alone and he immediately asks her to marry him, she doesn't answer. Two weeks later, she says 'yes'. The film doesn't tell us what she finds in him, why she accepted the marriage, because it has more serious things to deal with: passion, love and sensuality. It is possible that the beautiful hairdresser felt desired by Antoine, and Jean Rochefort's performance is a masterpiece of subtlety, you can see his magnificent blue eyes drawing Anna Galiena's body just by staring at her, it's not just love, it's completeness, possession, perfection. AndGaliena does more than acting, she acts as a presence, candidly existing through her husband's idealization, and the 'less' she does, the more we idealize her, too. Where do they live? Probably in some Southern town where it's always sunny, a sun that almost sanctifies the beauty of Anna Galiena, an eternal virgin inspiring a passion that never fades. A few customers come, some are the occasions of a few chit-chat, some marital arguments, a kid doesn't want to have his hair cut but Antoine entertains him with some crazy oriental dance, and then you have the splendid sequence were Galiena washes a man's hair and since his eyes are closed because of the soap, Antoine can caress her legs and lay his head on her behind. This is a masterpiece of sensuality, something that doesn't rely on twerking and humping or explicit sex. The tag-line says it better, it's sexier than a dozen "Basic Instinct". That's how the whole experience feels like; a magnificent dream in a heaven-like improbable place that reassembled all the fantasy, it's a sexual reverie that says a great truth about men, subconscious isn't just about shameful stuff. Lust can be delicious. At one point, Antoine says he doesn't need friends or family (and it's true they seem to be self-sufficient) he was dedicated to an idea, an ideal, a fantasy for some, a heaven for another. And the directing of Patrice Leconte embraces the film's poetry with such boldness it reminded of a "Field of Dreams", another movie that reached some level of perfection. The film made Ebert and Siskel's Top 10 lists of 1992 and if you watch them talking about it, you can see a sparkle in their eyes, they conclude the show with some innocent smiles inspiring Siskel's comment: "we're like little boys". It's true this film reveals the little boy inside of us, it's even a leitmotif as it starts with a boy dancing to oriental music. When Rochefort engages in these dances, he doesn't fool any audience, he can't dance, but it's the little boy inside him who's dancing, clueless and careless about what we thing. The little boy who wanted to be a hairdresser and became one, when Maria says "yes", it's not Rochefort smiling but his younger counterpart. The man seems entrapped in his fantasy but he's probably freer than any other man, he's the happiest person in the whole film. I won't spoil the ending, but maybe the message is that we shall never underestimate the power of the child inside us even when it comes to adult matters. 'The Hairdresser's Husband" is about a man who found inner happiness by sticking to some twisted vision inherited from childhood. That he lived happily by that makes the question about its validity pointless. In other words, we don't want to be hairdresser's husbands, but wouldn't we love to be happy?Fully satisfied?And confident that we've made the right choice?I don't regret my marital choices but I would lie if I said I never thought of any of my "fantasy" adventures... and some are still 'obsessing me'.

This simple history is at the same time; funny (those wool bathing suits), sad (poetry, here, is sadness), amusing (that mesmerizing Arab dance) and moving (extreme love story). You feel your heart caught all the running time. It's a great example how to represent in cinema what's true love. A couple alone with themselves and their love. Nothing else needed, nothing else missed. As Antoine says: "No friends, no sons, nobody, just us". Even that's not accurate, but it's as they feel it. A very beautiful movie that let you at the end shuddered and melancholic...and envious of what the characters have had the luck to live. A must see. Absolutely recommended for romantic people. 8'5/10

Being a Patrice Leconte-directed film, you know this is going to be nicely photographed with a lot of Sergio Leone-type facial closeups. I always appreciate that, and especially here when it is the beautiful face of Anna Galiena featured often. Some of the "portraits" of her in here would make magnificent paintings.The story isn't much but it kept my interest in an odd way. The film had some strange scenes and some strange viewpoints on life, although I noticed much of the same secular and superstitious liberalness in many films from France. Unfortunately, that secular viewpoint can lead to tragic endings as is the case in this story which finished in a shocking manner.However, there is some nice humor in this drama, too, such as the funny dance scenes by Jean Rochefort.One thing about French films: they don't need a lot of action to keep your interest. They are wonderful storytellers and I usually enjoy their films, despite their odd philosophies on life.

Beautiful cinematography does not a good film make. This film has wonderful cinematography and some really delightful scenes, but it is lacking in drama or any sort of real character archs. The relationship between Antoine and Mathilde is unreal and lacking substance. It's difficult to see what ties these two together at all, except for the way Antoine objectifies and idolizes Mathilde. The film has a fairy tale quality, especially with the way the film is lit; with Mathilde looking positively heavenly and angelic, but in a hyperreal way. It succeeds in that we truly feel the fascination Antoine feels and the adoration he feels for female hairdressers but without the film moving into any sort of deeper level, the story fails to move the viewer. It stays on a superficial level and, if anything, the character of Antoine seems somewhat despicable, the way he objectifies these hairdressers. I feel the film could've been much more powerful if the director decided to dig deep into his characters' obsessions instead of creating a shallow homage to objectifying hairdressers.But the cinematography was gorgeous, and the dance sequences were nice.