La Moustache

Descent into madness? Maybe yes, maybe no.
This is an absolutely incredible film. Just wonderful.

I read the book a couple of years ago and recently re-read it. As I looked it up, I found a film had been made-- I didn't know about it-- so I immediately purchased a copy.

If you haven't read the book, you must. And, this time, reading the book first is probably a good choice.

I'm baffled that some seem to think the ending was unclear. I think it was very clear. However, I don't want to include any spoilers here. It's exactly as it seems to be. Exactly. So, if you're confused and looking for a hidden meaning, you won't find one. It's exactly as the main character understands it to be at the very end.

The movie starts out with Marc asking his wife, Agnes, if he should shave his mustache. He does, and she doesn't notice. As a matter of fact, nobody notices. When he confronts his wife and friends, they insist that he has not had a mustache for at least 15 years. Obviously, somebody...

Handsome, But Not Clean-Cut
The cover of this DVD misleads when it likens its drama to Hitchcock's work. There is actually nothing approaching a Hitchcock level of suspense here. However, the viewer is kept intellectually guessing, ping-ponging back and forth at least through the first part of the film, wondering, "Did the man have a moustache, or didn't he? Is he gaslighting his wife, or is she gaslighting him?"

Like the French language itself, there are so many letters of explanation in this film that don't get pronounced, but that inform the pronunciation of other letters in the words. Director Emmanuel Carrere refers to "ghosts" whose presence is felt, trailing the characters' lives. However again, none of this rises to the level of suspense.

Most of the value of this movie lies in its view of a marriage. This is an adult relationship, different from the kind we see in most American films where one spouse (usually the woman) is shown as mere adjunct to the man's answering call to...

"NOTICE ANYTHING DIFFERENT ?"
A man shaves his "moustache" and his his wife -- or are they lovers? -- insists he never had one. And then things get really strange. Is someone messing with his mind? Or vice versa?

Up to the end, I loved this funny (at first) and finally disturbing French film that slyly forces you to shift the paradigm you think you're in.

How fragile our shimmering realities if some little thing fractures our bubble.

How ephemeral our identities that are held together by nothing more than fleeting reflections of self.

If you're fond of French films like Caché and Lemming, this one is a tasty treat up to a point.

But be warned that no matter how glued you might be to the unfolding Hitchcockian twists, the final ending is a HUGE, FRUSTRATING DISAPPOINTMENT. In fact, it made me angry to be so unsatisfied. There's such a thing too much trimming and editing to achieve some kind of minimalist existential French ambiance. The end of a...

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