The Moustache (2006)

Wonderful Movie

So much average

Powerful

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Marc and Agnes are lovers who have been together for a while. They are comfortable with one another, and yet, there seems to be an undercurrent of frustration in the way they interact with each other. As the story begins, they are preparing to go out to a dinner with friends. Agnes has forgotten something. Marc seen in the bathroom, where he decides to shave his mustache. His new look is ignored by Agnes, as well as the couple they visit. Marc's new look is ignored by all, giving him a rare sense of reality. He even gets pictures taken years before where he clearly shows the mustache in question. Marc is clearly puzzled by a turn of events that make him doubt about things he has taken for granted. He begins to question himself, his relationship, his world, fleeing from it all. Marc takes refuge in the anonymous atmosphere of Hong Kong where he spends a day riding the ferries across Victoria's Harbor in search for answers. He finds some kind of peace in a humble pension in Lantau's island that has memories of a happier time for him, as well as Agnes.Directed by Emmanuel Carrere, based on his own novel, who adapted it for the cinema with Jerome Beaujour. The film poses a lot of interesting questions which are not easily answered in the film, which will throw off some viewers for the many questions raised but not answered. Like most intellectual French filmmakers, Mr. Carrere wants the audience reach its own conclusions. There are clues along the way that might be interpreted in different fashion by different viewers. What the director gets is an absorbing film in the tradition of Michael Haneke's "Cache" and other films that require involvement. Be prepared to do some thinking.Vincent Lindon's work is the main reason for watching "La moustache". He was at his best in this fantastic account of a man's quest to find out the truth about himself and his relationship with Agnes. The actor does a credible job with his Marc, making us care about this man. Emmanuelle Devos gives a good performance as Agnes, who also plays a complex role in the story. The two stars show good chemistry in their take of their characters. Patrick Blossier's excellent cinematography works wonders in the film, as well as Philip Glass' 'Concert for Violin' enhances the mood created by Mr. Carrere.

Well it starts out innocently enough and then we are thrown back and forth back and forth with each point verifying itself leaving the viewer saying yes, I agree only to have the same viewer say, no I don't agree. Then,you ask, which one is it? This style of story can be compelling and entertaining but risks losing the viewer at the end if they are not pleased...That potential exists here. It is definitely a discussion film, but has obvious points that once mentioned have no further value. It is that ending that causes one to say...what is going on here? There is a subtle clue or two, but I needed input from a sensitive commenter to find closure because the director will not help you here...I was engrossed all the way through, so no problem there...but that ending well its like a five course meal and you only got 4 courses. Your full, but you paid for five courses...enjoy this movie because this is only my opinion I am sharing. You will definitely have yours and so will others..

Interesting French drama focusing to a men's relationship with he's wife. SPOILER-Sometimes our self picture is not what other people can see in us.The relationship what this man has seems normal for me.I mean almost all relationship has little problems.This man just can not understand why he's wife ,friends ,work-partners,don't realize he cut down he's fringe.But when he start to make he's relationship better ,in unusual way,the things are start to change.The acting is important in a film like this ,almost the most important,and I think they were enough for this time.Script:The creators did not think you are stupid.So strange but good film.

"La Moustache" is drawn from a novel penned by Emmanuel Carrère and this time, he chose to translate into pictures this mad story rather than letting seasoned filmmakers adapt it for the screen as it was previously the case (Claude Miller turned "la Classe De Neige", 1998 into a winner while "l'Adversaire", 2002 showed Nicole Garcia's wide skills as a female director). The question is: was it wise from Carrère to do himself the job? Because without being a total failure, his work is a very mixed one. Someone like Roman Polanski or Dominik Moll (the man responsible for "Harry Un Ami Qui Vous Veut Du Bien", 2000) would have been the man for the job.To surprise his wife (Emmanuelle Devos) and friends, Marc (Vincent Lindon) decides to shave his mustache and amazingly, no-one notices it. Worse, his wife goes to claim that he's never had a mustache. Who's right and wrong? How will things evolve from here? The material was promising and let predict a terrific eerie film. You can see what motivated Carrère to shoot his piece of work: an irrational, absurd feud of a couple for a trivial detail which causes its disintegration. If the mystery remains open until the very last pictures and by opting for a deliberately sparse cinematographic writing especially relying on gestures and looks rather than words, Carrère doesn't properly handle the unnerving climate such a bizarre story could convey and some key-sequences are unsatisfying, notably when Devos screams to her husband: "you have never had a mustache". The dramatic progression isn't really mastered to be convincingly taken in the absurd spiral that eats up the couple. Without mentioning a flimsy end from the moment when Marc flies to Hong Kong and roams there for a long time before landing in a lowly hotel. His spouse finds him back there. How could she know he was there?It's such an underwhelming menu that you don't want to think about it after the screening. Is Marc's wife right? Doesn't she play a shady game with her husband? What does she think of the evidence found by Marc where he can prove he's had a mustache? Actually, one doesn't bother about these questions. As for the actors, they have seen better days before and it's not a film they would put on top of their CVs.