Golden Braid

If you are not familiar with Paul Cox's works such as Man of Flowers and Cactus, this film might be too hard to digest. Setting up the familiar Cox scenario of an emotionally insecure and reclusive protagonist dealing with an obsession, the film follows the introverted life of an antique clock shop owner and repairer, Bernard (played by Cox regular Chris Haywood) who finds a braid of hair in a clock. This sets off a series of events in which Bernard becomes 'entagled' with the braid on a number of levels much to the confusion of his lover. The film is loosely based on a Guy de Maupassant story called Le Chevelure but this is very much Cox's rendition on obsession. Cox's direction, as usual, is detached, allowing Haywood to invest Bernard's character with a subtle depth that avoids histrionics. Despite being an Australian film, the tone is very much of a European art-house film but more offbeat.