The Hairdresser's Husband
Encyclopedia
The Hairdresser's Husband , a 1990 French
film
written by Patrice Leconte
and Claude Klotz, and directed by Leconte
. Jean Rochefort
stars as the title character. Anna Galiena
co-stars.
It won Patrice Leconte
the Prix Louis Delluc. In 1991 it was nominated for "Best Foreign-Language Film" in the British Academy Film Awards
.
s which began at a young age. The film uses flashbacks throughout and there are frequent parallels drawn with the past. Though Antoine tells Mathilde that 'the past is dead', his life is evidence that on some level the past repeats itself. As a young boy he fantasised about a hairdresser who committed suicide and as a man in his 50s he begins an affair with a hairdresser which ends after ten years in her suicide. However there are differences, Mathilde commits suicide because she is so happy she is afraid of the happiness she has found with Antoine ending.
We are unsure what Antoine has done with his life; we know, however, that he has fulfilled his childhood ambition: to marry a haidresser. The reality proves to be every bit as wonderful as the fantasy and the two enjoy an enigmatic, enclosed and enchanting relationship. The final sequence shows Antoine, in the salon, dancing to Eastern music just as he has done throughout his life. The last line is that the hairdresser is coming though what this means is up to interpretation.
added this to his "Great Movies" list on January 27, 2010.
by Michael Nyman
and also contains a great deal of Middle Eastern popular music. It was first released as an album in Japan by Soundtrack Listeners Communications (SLC) September 21, 1992 and has subsequently been released elsewhere.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written by Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.-Biography:...
and Claude Klotz, and directed by Leconte
Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.-Biography:...
. Jean Rochefort
Jean Rochefort
Jean Rochefort is a French actor, with a career that has spanned over five decades.Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National...
stars as the title character. Anna Galiena
Anna Galiena
Anna Galiena is an Italian actress, best known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in Le Mari de la coiffeuse, Jamón, jamón and Being Human.-Movie career:...
co-stars.
It won Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte
Patrice Leconte is a French film director, actor, comic strip writer, and screenwriter.-Biography:...
the Prix Louis Delluc. In 1991 it was nominated for "Best Foreign-Language Film" in the British Academy Film Awards
British Academy Film Awards
The British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
.
Synopsis
The film begins in a flashback from the titular character, Antoine. We are introduced to his fixation with female hairdresserHairdresser
Hairdresser is a term referring to anyone whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques...
s which began at a young age. The film uses flashbacks throughout and there are frequent parallels drawn with the past. Though Antoine tells Mathilde that 'the past is dead', his life is evidence that on some level the past repeats itself. As a young boy he fantasised about a hairdresser who committed suicide and as a man in his 50s he begins an affair with a hairdresser which ends after ten years in her suicide. However there are differences, Mathilde commits suicide because she is so happy she is afraid of the happiness she has found with Antoine ending.
We are unsure what Antoine has done with his life; we know, however, that he has fulfilled his childhood ambition: to marry a haidresser. The reality proves to be every bit as wonderful as the fantasy and the two enjoy an enigmatic, enclosed and enchanting relationship. The final sequence shows Antoine, in the salon, dancing to Eastern music just as he has done throughout his life. The last line is that the hairdresser is coming though what this means is up to interpretation.
Cast
- Jean RochefortJean RochefortJean Rochefort is a French actor, with a career that has spanned over five decades.Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National...
- Antoine - Anna GalienaAnna GalienaAnna Galiena is an Italian actress, best known to English-speaking audiences for her appearances in Le Mari de la coiffeuse, Jamón, jamón and Being Human.-Movie career:...
- Mathilde - Roland BertinRoland BertinRoland Bertin is a French actor. He has appeared in 100 films and television shows since 1970.-Selected filmography:* Le Petit théâtre de Jean Renoir English title: The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir...
- Antoine's father - Maurice ChevitMaurice Chevit- Filmography:* Mr. Orchid * Les Hussards * The Sleeping Car Murders * Molière : The priest of the school* Le Coup de sirocco : General Bauvergne* Les Bronzés font du ski : Marius...
- Ambroise Dupré dit Isidore Agopian - Philippe Clévenot - Morvoisieux
- Jacques MathouJacques MathouJacques Mathou is a French actor, best known for his appearance in Delicatessen.-Filmography:* 1994 : Tombés du ciel, Policeman* 1991 : Delicatessen, Roger* 1990 : The Hairdresser's Husband, Mr Chardon* 1989 : Dédé, the priest...
- Mr. Chardon - Anne-Marie Pisani - Madame Shaeffer
Reception
American film critic Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
added this to his "Great Movies" list on January 27, 2010.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack (http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?movieid=7085) was composedComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
by Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
and also contains a great deal of Middle Eastern popular music. It was first released as an album in Japan by Soundtrack Listeners Communications (SLC) September 21, 1992 and has subsequently been released elsewhere.
External links
- The Hairdresser's Husband at Allmovie
- The Hairdresser's Husband at Rotten TomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
- Review of The Hairdresser's Husband