Le mari de la coiffeuse

The odeurs, the warm light, the caresses, the soft looks (and the music of course) makes you feel like discovering an unknown chapter of the Arabian Nights, even though we never leave the South of France.

Like in all fairy-tales time doesn't really mean much in this story ... untill it is too late and the world steps in, heart-stopping, mind-boggling; than the Hairdressers husband turns the cave of Ali Baba into his own pyramid, pushing us, the viewers, out. Tremendous Film !!

Banning this beautiful film for being unrealistic or unbelievable only shows how self-centered can American audiences be.

The fact that a mid-class French hairdresser commits suicide just because she is afraid to lose her present loving feeling should not be considered absurd, but instead should make all of us think how do we lose our own love day by day -doing nothing to prevent it.

And the way Jean Rochefort talks to the customer at the last scene is just so moving -oh well, you might say it's only an old mad Frenchman, but believe me, there is much more than that.

The French are the masters of melancholy. I don't think I've ever been more pleased by sadness than after watching this beautiful film. A little boy obsesses over his hairdresser as a child and then finally fulfills his fantasy nearly forty years later when he marries a stunningly gorgeous owner of a barber shop on a whim. The story is simple, and though it may leave some viewers wanting more in terms of character development, it will play well if you see it as a fable. The two are madly in love with each other and their whole life revolves around the barber shop and their customers. Quirky humor, insightful observances about everyday life and people's behavior, and superb photography (especially of the luminous actress playing the hairdresser) make this a highly enjoyable film to watch. This is a wonderful look at how lust can grow into love, and how love can turn tragic and then hopeful again. Bravo to director Leconte. C'est la vie!

I am a little at a loss of words to describe this small gem of a movie. It is very sensual, it is deeply moving, and it is very funny. As a small boy Antoine is asked by his father what he would like to be one day. He answers that he wants to marry a hairdresser ... and he does some fifty years later when he weds Mathilde. Their relationship is an ideal one: warm, affectionate, deeply loving. It brings out the very best in both of them. But Mathilde knows (fears?) that what goes up must come down...

The acting is superb. Very little is actually said but both Jean Rochefort and the Italian actress Anna Galiena speak with their bodies and above all with their faces, and their language surpasses that of words: their superb acting makes it appear easy for an audience to share their emotions and be elevated to similar heights and depths of feelings. If only all films would manipulate our emotions in such a subtle and gratifying way. First rate!

I love this film probably because it seems to be the kind of movie that would never get made in the US. It not only seems to be foreign, it seems otherworldly. The musical interludes featuring the bizarre movements of Jean Rochefort are worth many repeat viewings. (I own a copy of this video.) The movie looks at obsession and the transitory nature of relationships in a bittersweet and magical way.