The Moustache (2005) User Reviews

Ingeniously structured and passionately filmed...

[ftabouring · 8/10 · 19 July 2005]

Darkness prevails already at the very beginning of 'La Moustache', Emmanuel Carrère's proper adaptation of his novel of the same title, which he published back in the 1980's. Accompanying the opening credits is Philip Glass' perfectly composed and utterly gloomy Violin Concerto, which re-emerges throughout the movie and constantly supplies the global atmosphere of the film with an ominous and bewildering touch.

Welcome to this year's most abstruse film, and eventually the most challenging psychological experiment since 'The Machinist'. Presented at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival in the 'Quinzaine des Réalisateurs' category - a category promoting abstract and rather unusual movies - 'La Moustache' follows the intricate story of Marc Thiriez (Vincent Lindon), an ordinary Parisian architect who slips into a vicious identity crisis after he spontaneously shaves off his moustache.

"How would you react if I shaved off my moustache?" Marc asks his girlfriend Agnès (Emmanuelle Devos) before they visit some friends for dinner. Her reaction is not immediate, and she simply replies "I don't know; I love you with it but I've never known you without it." So while Agnès leaves the apartment for a short time to do some shopping, Marc takes the risk and cuts off his beloved moustache, just like that, in order to see his lover's face and analyze her reaction when she returns home.

However, Marc will be severely disappointed: upon Agnès' arrival, she does not utter one single word. She seems not to notice the major physical change in Marc's face. Nor do their friends. Even Marc's colleagues at the office fail to perceive the absence of his moustache. Is he on the verge of madness? Or has he become the target of a massive conspiracy triggered by his own girlfriend? More weirdly, did he even ever have a moustache? Or was it part of some unexplainable imagination? Marc has no clue at all how to react to his baffling new situation…

When you enter the official movie website, a big question mark appears at the end of the flash intro. This question mark is totally appropriate, since it clearly illustrates what kind of movie 'La Moustache' really is: namely a confusing, puzzling drama with an open ending and a number of unexplainable twists, flashbacks and mysterious appearances by characters when you least expect it. "What is 'La Moustache' about?" is the first question of a recent online interview conducted with Emmanuel Carrère. The director himself has no answer to that crucial question.

Indeed, 'La Moustache' is one of these attention-grabbing cinematic mysteries that first baffle the spectators, and then leave them behind with a bunch of questions unanswered. There are though, in this ingeniously structured and passionately filmed movie, some easily detectable themes. For once, 'La Moustache' is an analysis of a dysfunctional couple tumbling into a conflict driven by mistrust. Marc soon accuses Agnès of plotting against him, but Agnès is deeply persuaded that Marc has in fact never had a moustache. This marks the beginning of a series of violent arguments and disputes.

Moreover, Carrère's film closely focuses on a man struggling with the inevitable loss of his personal identity. Marc is unable to distinguish between reality and imagination, and so he struggles hard to uncover the origins of the problem. He is a man all on his own against the rest of the world. In his apartment, he finds some old pictures from a vacation in Bali, all of them showing him with a moustache. But is he really the only one to see it? Is the moustache on this photo real or not? He does not know, and we do not either.

Especially the first part of 'La Moustache' is intensely compelling and dark, examining the relationship between Marc and Agnès, and closely focusing on Marc's progressive battle to keep his emotional and moral nature under control. When his consciousness slowly begins to shut down, the tension mounts as the suspense grows and the atmosphere becomes more and more threatening. Carrère has a brilliant vision, and he captures Marc's way into madness in a diverse and appealing way.

Marc is the perfect role for Vincent Lindon, whose look is continually as puzzling as the story itself. He masters his role with ideal perfection, always acting authentically. The same can be said about the brilliant Emmanuelle Devos ('La Femme de Gilles'), who delivers an enigmatic performance as Agnès. Her complex character is a true object of curiosity, and no one can trust her. Is she the evil woman ruining the mind of her partner? Or is she the reasonable person? Question marks à gogo.

The last twenty minutes of 'La Moustache', which follow Marc to Bangkok, where he repetitively embarks and disembarks ferries all day long, are quite debatable, yet very challenging. The film reaches yet another climax, takes another abrupt twist, and once again challenges us spectators by sparking our curiosity. Please do not expect a satisfying explanation towards the very ending, because 'La Moustache' ain't going to give you one. Many pieces of the puzzle remain untraceable; but that's exactly what makes this masterpiece so intriguing and unique. (Grade: B+)

Good enough to almost make me...

[ftmetler · 7/10 · 19 October 2006]

Read the book some time ago and after watching the movie felt much the same sort of existential exhilaration - if there is such a thing. Maybe it was just the cold that I have, though. A little overacted at times, but otherwise like an exotic episode of the Twilight Zone, shot in glorious colour. The film reminded me another French film I saw in the theatre recently by the name of Cache, which I enjoyed very much. As for it's American counterpart, I suppose that you'd be looking at something like Lost Highway, David Lynch's bizarre account of a modern, urban couple trying to grapple with the unknown. This seems to be something of a genre for the French and they are quite good at pulling it off - as is evidenced with this film - with considerable style and enough depth of plot and character to leave you considering and reconsidering the film for far more than the sadly customary 10 minutes.

I almost shaved my beard off after watching it just to see what would happen. But I haven't yet. Or have I?

Recommended!

[samskara7 · 8/10 · 9 June 2013]

This is a strange story of mental illness (at least that's how I chose to interpret it). A man, Marc, gradually loses his grip on reality after shaving his mustache that was always there as part of his look as a man (or at least he thinks it was). The movie is seen through Marc's perspective which makes it difficult to discern reality from his bouts of schizophrenic hallucinations.

At some points the movie reminds me of Lost Highway in the manner with which it represented the split of the protagonist (or rather a metamorphosis) into two different characters. In La Moustache the split happens at the level of the "life" of the protagonist, his world is constantly subjected to transformations, while he more or less stays the same. However in LH we can discern the "true" part of the protagonist from his "imagined" part. That distinction is impossible in La Moustache ; we don't know where his madness starts and where it ends. He is a total mess, and it is upon this ambiguity that everything we see is built.

All in all, this movie was a really nice surprise that I highly enjoyed and that I recommend for fans of Lynch, Cronenberg and psychological thrillers/dramas.

Vincent Lindon's performance alone will make this soapy tale rinse down smoother

[oneloveall · 6/10 · 13 January 2007]

Borrowing a few techniques from the likes of Lynch or Haneke, La Moustache presents an engaging but intentionally confusing story of one man's facial hair and the strange series of events that are set off once that hairy upper lip was removed. Acting as a catalyst in this bizarrely written mystery, The Moustache really plays better as psychological drama then the semi-ludicrous, detail-specific, identity riddle it's seductive direction and powerful performances wooed us into believing. Guided by typical cornerstones of praised European fare, this film, as stubborn or illogical as it may be, is punctuated by the restrained and observant direction of it's original novelist Emmanuel Carrère, and crowned by the masterfully human performance Vincent Lindon imbues this difficult character. When the final credits have rolled, many will be left scratching their heads, already forming diverging conclusions as to what this movie actually had to say. Though there seemed to be too much left to speculation with too many plot holes to justify everything I saw, this was still a compelling mistake at worst and is still worth taking the shave even if the final result feels more pretentiously derivative then compellingly original.

Bad Hair Day

[writers_reign · 7/10 · 1 September 2005]

This movie is a prime example of how the simplest things can mushroom out of control. Architect Marc (Vincent Lindon) has had a moustache since he was knee high to a blueprint and it is, he feels, part of him, then he takes it into his head to speculate on just how much he is identified via the moustache. He starts by asking his live-in lover Agnes (Manu Devos) whether she would still fancy him sans moustache; since she's only known him with it she can't answer. So, out comes the razor and THEN comes the uneasiness that segues into genuine fright. Not only does Devos not notice the difference but neither do their friends and his colleagues at work. We are now on the fringes of a Kafkaesque scenario which isn't really resolved satisfactorily. For reasons that eluded me Marc, by now convinced that Devos has some hidden agenda he can't fathom, lights out for Hong Kong literally in just the clothes he stands up in and spends a few days - weeks, months? - riding the ferry before Devos shows up, or does she? For one thing how did she know where he was and/or track him down to the fleabag where's he's taken a room. Lots of food for thought here and the acting is out of the right bottle if anybody asks you.

Pleasant surprise

[PAolo-10 · 8/10 · 3 September 2005]

"The Moustache" is a comedy that, starting from the most trivial of pretexts, quickly turns into a true Kafkian nightmare. A man shaves his mustache. No one seems to notice, and in a surrealistic parody of male mid-life crisis this causes conflict, pain and uncertainty. But more and more threads come undone in the fabric of his reality.

Excellent self-adaptation of a short novel by Emmanuel Carrère, La Moustache delivers the spectator with much more than it promises, in these days a rare occurrence indeed. Vincent Lindon as the troubled protagonist is good and measured, and the movie has an excellent pace and nothing is overdone. Even the theme, a Philip Glass "Concerto pour violon et orchestre" could not be more effective. Will we ever see this movie in the USA? Maybe in a parallel reality.

Compelling but Unsatisfying

[jelaplan · 6/10 · 8 December 2006]

I saw the movie at the Melwood Screening room in Pittsburgh, PA so indeed the film made it the USA.

The movie held my interest throughout but in the end it was unsatisfying because it continued to create loose ends throughout without ever weaving them back together. You could argue that that was intentional, that the viewer was supposed to draw their own conclusions. But, given that real life so often presents unknowable people and events, a film is an opportunity to see things through. mho.

A few things I wondered about: At the end of the movie, his wife mysteriously appears in his south Asian hotel and acts as if nothing is strange about that. As if they had been there together the while time. They make love and then he wakes. It's not clear if she was still there and he's alone. But, just prior to bed, she had suggested he shave his mustache and he does. And she acknowledges him shaving it. That acknowledgment seemed satisfying to him.

Some people, mostly strangers seemed to recognize from photos that he had had a mustache. But all the closest friends denied him ever having had one. Seems too much to believe that he had had one and so he seems crazy. But, they might be in collusion. The film doesn't providing any motif for that collusion.

beautiful !

[desilets_ · 9/10 · 20 May 2006]

wow ! this movie is great ! If what you want is to be an active spectator and interactive with the movie, you'll not be disappointed. You'll try to think about what you see and try to solve this whole strange piece of art.

Its about the choices that we make (small choices as to deceide yes or no to cut the moustache) and what are the consequences on our life and the impact toward us by the people we know. Am I important to their eyes even if they are called friends, will they notify any difference on our life. It's also about the search of our identity, and how our identity becomes the one of the other in a relashionship with a lover.

You choose what ever is the meaning of this movie but I believe the director has it's own precise explanation about every detail. I have my own, I think most of the movie is imagination of the character, and the only reality scenes are the ones where he walks everyday in the metro of Hong-Kong, depressed after his wife would have left him during the vacations in Hong-Kong, where he shave his moustache. Even those vacations are a little bit transformed mentally by the reconstitution, it's a flash-back, and all the scenes in Paris are imagination of a life he would have had with his wife if they would have stayed together, with constantly rethinking of his choice of shaving the moustache. It's like Hanneke's "Caché" or more like Lynch's "Mulholland Drive". We travel into the infinite spiral of the human spirit, everything is interior and subjective. The music of Philip Glass is sublime and will obsess you.

You won't forget this movie, even if you don't like it.

absolutely perplexing

[postmanwhoalwaysringstwice · 7/10 · 18 February 2007]

The premise for "La Moustache" should be enough to grab the attention of any film fanatic, especially one who gets thrills from the psychological twists perpetrated upon an audience by the likes of Hitchcock and those he inspired. The film begins simply enough with a man in the bath, inquiring of his wife whether or not he should shave off his mustache. Soon enough he's rid himself of that same lip hair, and no one seems to notice. In fact, maybe he never even had the thing in the first place. How genius a premise, right? The minutiae of daily life are oft overlooked subject matter, so it's refreshing to see something so basic given major importance. Things go along smoothly enough as the man starts to come unwound due to this, but then what? By the time the end credits roll, certain thoughts are running wildly through the mind of the audience. It goes back to wondering just how much can be perpetrated upon an audience before they are either too stumped to get it, or too mentally manipulated to care. This is an interesting film worth a peek, and possibly a discussion about its genius or likewise about where it goes sadly astray.

A Wonderfully Mysterious Film

[TonesH · 5/10 · 12 June 2006]

When I was reading the description of this movie for the Sydney Film Festival I was instantly intrigued, and I certainly was not let down, as it lived both up to this description and my expectation of it.

The premise is delightfully simple: a man trims off his moustache after discussing the possibility with his partner, and after he does so she seems adamant that she never had one in the first place. The entire first half of the film is centred around the conflict that follows, and because of its simplicity I think it is the strongest part of the film. At first it is utterly engaging because of the way Marc responds to everyone's apprent disinterest in his new appearance. He is genuinely upset when his friends, and particularly his wife, do not respond to the change. I thought that it was an effective insight into relationships on the part of Carrere, showing how such a small thing can become such a big issue for a couple. The other feature of the first part of the film was the story regarding the radiator, which sets up the possibility that this could be an elaborate hoax. Though, from the naturalistic perspective the movie takes, it is absurd to think that his wife and friends could have orchestrated the entire affair, it is to Carrere's credit that the possibility is always niggling at the audience.

The progression to the second half of the movie, set in Hong Kong, was somewhat jarring. The trips on the boat, though furthering nicely the interesting water motif that permeated the film, got slightly repetitive before the final twist at the end. However, the appearance of his wife in his hotel room quickly makes one forget this, and really allows the audience to form their own opinion on the matter; is this the dillusion of a troubled man, or the sick game of a strange wife.

The film was excellently written and directed, and the music was inoffensive but effective. My only quibble was the quality of some parts of the movie, but I think this may have been a problem with the reel that was used. All in all it was a highly enjoyable movie for those who don't like to always know what's going on, but most enjoyment can be yielded from it if one appreciates the insights into relationships shown here, and not just into continuity of appearance.

A dream of a life may in fact be just a life in a dream.

[RJBurke1942 · 8/10 · 1 March 2008]

This review reveals almost everything about this story. So, if you want to enjoy the mystery first, then stop right now...and come back after you've seen the film.

The title is classic misdirection by writers. This story has nothing specific to do with a moustache. It is merely a symbol used to highlight the idea of identity and, more particularly, the extent to which a husband and wife are aware of each other.

The story is as follows: the fade in opens with a successful Parisian businessman, Marc Thiriez (Vincent Lindon), shaving off his moustache while having a bath. When confronting his wife, Agnes (Emmanuelle Devos) she fails to evince any surprise. Somewhat puzzled – because, only a few moments prior, Agnes had said how much she liked his moustache – Marc says nothing but continues on to a dinner engagement to Serge and Nadia Schaeffer (Mathieu Amalric and Marcha Polikarpova) where they all say nothing about his new look. Later, suspecting a trick, Marc confronts Agnes at their apartment where she categorically denies Marc has ever had a moustache...

Oooops!

Dumbfounded, Marc has a troubled sleep but goes to work the next morning, convinced that Agnes and their so-called friends are out to get him, for some unknown reason. At the office and the nearby coffee shop – where Marc has dined all too often – the same situation persists: nobody makes any comment about the absence of his moustache.

Hence, for Marc, the puzzle worsens...

He begins to panic: he searches for the remains of his moustache in the garbage; he seeks confirmation from a stranger that a photo, from a 2003 holiday in Bali, shows him with a moustache. But, later that day, he asks Agnes to cancel a lunch with his parents - and she replies that his father died a year earlier! Questioning her further, Marc realizes with mounting horror, that she cannot even recall their friends, Serge and Nadia!

What's going on here? Am I crazy, thinks Marc? Confused and shattered, he falls into a stupor and sleeps again, allowing Agnes to slip a knock-out Mickey Finn to him. Hours later he wakes to hear Agnes and Bruno (Hippolyte Giradou), his office associate, discussing plans to have him committed to an asylum. Frantic, Marc runs off to find his parents, but is unable to contact them, and calls Agnes to meet him, while watching from a taxi. After she leaves with Bruno, Marc quickly gets his passport, a coat and money, and goes to the airport where he boards a flight for...Hong Kong!

When he gets there, he wanders around a bit, alternately ferrying from Hong Kong to Kowloon and back a few times – a great metaphor for his indecision - then pays his way onto a coastal trader to finally wind up at an un-named coastal village. He wanders off from the boat and ends up at a run-down hotel where he pays for a room and falls asleep, exhausted...

Okay – stop right here: all of the above is Marc's dream – or nightmare, I guess.

The next (real) scene, we see Marc, unshaven with many weeks growth, wolfing down noodles at a local restaurant. After the meal, he wanders back to the hotel where he finds (and, as the viewer, we also find) Agnes packing their bags to return to Paris. She tells him to shave off his growing beard and suggests he also remove his moustache. When he does so, she remarks how much it suits him. They go to bed; they make love; she sleeps. Marc lies there for a long while, eyes closed. Then, he opens his eyes wide, blankly and silently screaming: am I awake or is this a dream? Fade to black...

So, here's the real story: Marc and Agnes are on holiday, near Hong Kong, where he hopes to resurrect what he thinks is their dead or dying marital and sexual relationship. One night, he has a nightmare about his innermost fears and desires. The next morning, fortuitously, Agnes suggests he change his image, more or less in keeping with his prior dream, and so he does. Happily for Marc, she actually notices the difference and things appear to be better. Unhappily, however, aspects of his dream remain, most particularly, a post card that he wrote out in his dream. Or did he?

Hence, when Marc stares into the darkness, is it truly reality? This is where the writer/director weaves two fundamental issues together: first, there is the male angst about whether his wife still loves him - which generates the bizarre dream set in Paris (while they are both on holiday in China) and second, there is the deeper philosophical issue about reality itself. As the final scene very slowly fades to black, the camera fixes on Marc's troubled eyes, the unspoken question screaming at us: am I in a dream now, or have I woken up? So, does Agnes truly love me, or no?

That's for you and all of us to decide...

When you see the movie, watch out for the clues that tell you it's all a dream: as the credits roll, there are city lights on dark water – water heavily connoting sex – with a sampan just in view; a long column of lights from skyscraper – a phallic symbol, much repeated later in the story; the photos from Bali, every lover's dream destination. As they drive to the dinner date with Serge and Nadia, Agnes makes a shocking admission to Marc about the way she dresses; at work, Marc is so confused, he says to himself: "I must be dreaming!" And, just when Marc leaves to go to work, Agnes calls him back and says: "Marc – this is like a bad trip!"

Some trip! See how you like it...

What About the Photos??

[dicksmothersjr · 16 October 2007]

Didn't anybody else notice that, despite the fact the guy had photos of himself with a mustache, he didn't show them to his wife? I mean, come on. The first thing anybody would've done in his situation, with his wife insisting he never had a mustache, would be to shove the photos in her face and say "See? Photos of me with a mustache!" For God's sake, he even showed a stranger (female cop) his driver's license and said "Do you see a mustache in this photo?" And the cop said "Yes". So why wouldn't the guy show it to his wife? He even dug out the photos and looked at them, ostensibly with the intention of showing them to his wife as proof, but no. I can't believe how insanely frustrating it was to try and watch this flick while that idiot held onto those photos yet didn't show them to his wife. I couldn't enjoy it after that. Please, someone explain to me why the director thought that was a reasonable way for the protagonist to behave.

a cheap cop-out always tastes bitter and gets under one's skin

[lasttimeisaw · 6/10 · 23 May 2016]

French author Emmanuel Carrère's sole venture into feature filmmaking by far, LA MOUSTACHE is adapted from his own novel published in 1986, a head-scratching story about a middle-aged French man Marc (Lindon), whose life starts to collapse after he shaved his trademark moustache on a whim, and everyone around starts to behave that they have never seen him in moustache, including his wife Agnès (Devos).

So, under this presumption, there could be two possible explanations: either Agnès is right, so Marc must have some serious psychological issues should be treated with kid gloves; or, Agnès is lying, when having dinner at their friends', Agnès is accused as an incorrigible liar by her ex- boyfriend Serge (Amalric), which might insinuate that an underhand conspiracy theory is in the pipeline. Cinematically, it is rather an intriguing premise, however, in hindsight, as the film turns out to be an experiment completely open to each individual's own interpretation, Carrère knowingly oscillates between these two scenarios lest the plot would veer to either direction with no turning back.

Take the example of the photo albums Marc finds, it is a trip to Bali years ago and obviously he is sporting a moustache in every picture, but, instead of pushing forward his proofs to Agnès or his friends, he chooses to withhold it until the album goes missing, if that's a slip of mind, later we clearly see his moustache in both the head-shots in his wallets and his passport, why not show them to contest his belief, or just visit his parents, who should know the truth, but no, because, it would channel the story into a dead-end, either Agnès is right or she is playing a bigger game to dupe him, either way, it would lose the mystical allure.

So, out of wits to keep the suspense rolling, Carrère employs a brisk geographical shift to Hong Kong, where Marc aimlessly and tediously moseys on ferry rides, an economical transportation in a metropolitan city (which might be used to save a fair amount of cost in shooting whilst the crew could enjoy their vacation), so as to buy some time to let his moustache grow back, then, bang! Surreal events materialise again, and viewers have no sooner recovered from the bamboozling revelation than the film reaches its succinct finish line, admittedly, it is an in-your-face anticlimax.

Masked as an existential fable, LA MOUSTACHE intrigues at first, but pretty soon loses its sway and resorts to absurd-ism and metaphysics, which could be an alternative to lift the bar, like Denis Villeneuve did in ENEMY (2013), but in this case, it only betrays the filmmaker's incompetence to concoct up anything could possibly give a plausible justification, a cheap cop-out always tastes bitter and gets under one's skin.

If you liked this film, please do not read this...

[jwatson-16 · 1/10 · 16 September 2007]

Because I'm about to tell you you've been had, like someone swindled by a two-bit fortune-teller.

Before I explain why, let me start by saying that it did not bother me that this film didn't resolve itself. I've watched some pretty challenging and experimental films that leave a LOT hanging, and I love them! Try El Topo sometime. There are more mainstream ones too like Naked Lunch, or Brazil. These films do not have nice tidy plot lines where everything makes sense -- they are still brilliant films.

The difference in the case of "La Moustache" is that while this film also happens to lack nice tidy plot lines, the film-makers seemed to think that that, all by itself, makes this film brilliant too.

I have never before seen a film that was so elitist, so vapid, and so disrespectful of its audience in assuming it is more clever than they are. The really sad thing is that, judging from reviews here, and even many professional reviews, the film succeeded in pulling the wool over many peoples' eyes.

Who the hell am I to say these things? Well I watched this film with a professional artist, and man with a PhD in comparative literature (who did extensive work in film studies). And you can probably tell from my writing, I'm no dummy either.

And the three of us were in total agreement: This film is like an inside joke whose punch line doesn't make sense, and yet everyone, maybe for fear of appearing not to "get it" starts nodding and laughing nervously.

Why is everyone doing this? Because the punch line SEEMS like it should make sense. We want it to make sense. There are all kinds of symbols and portentous happenings that are vaguely related to one another in some way or another -- like tarot cards sitting on the table. Stare at them long enough, and squint, and suddenly you can see "the answer".

But your subconscious is really just inventing whatever story it likes, and omitting any details that didn't fit. The movie is not smarter than you are. It is a bunch of seemingly "deep" events that strut around like a Chinese emperor in his newest outfit. (Psst, he's naked!)

As a film maker, if you're going to make a film that doesn't tie things together neatly, then you need to realize you have an obligation to make your film about SOMETHING more meaningful than the incongruous events you are showing on the screen.

Naked lunch was about the visions of a writer who is losing his mind. Brazil was about how dreams are powerful enough to transcend even a post-apocalyptic nightmare of a future.

This film is not about ANYTHING, except how you can make your audience follow a carrot on the end of a string, just by editing together a lot of scenes with great acting, great direction, and high production values that don't actually make any sense.

It's apparently what happens when you take a neat starting idea (a man shaves off his mustache, and everyone seems not to notice, then they claim he never had one), and then you become more interested in making yourself look clever than in actually telling a story that bears some relevance on our lives.

Very, very sad, or the French would say: Pathétique.

...it's just this little chromium switch here...

[wjellick · 25 January 2008]

Maybe this movie does not follow normal or accepted modes of exposition. Maybe what is infuriating some of the posters is that they have been fooled into thinking that it is a 'typical' movie - albeit with a somewhat strange premise - and that it will resolve like similar movies (Vertigo, Sixth Sense come to mind).

Actually, it has more in common with surrealist movies by directors like Luis Bunuel (i.e. 'Andalusian Dog') than Hitchcock, Shyamalan or Lynch. I must admit, I didn't come this understanding at first. I was tired when I watched it and knew nothing about it beforehand. I watched it through to the end and then sat there stewing and wondering what I had just watched.

The story is told through the eyes of the main character, Marc, but unlike Bunuel or Dali, this director did not scream 'dream' or 'hallucination' at the audience. Instead, you are lulled into believing that you are 'viewing' a story unfold rather than being in the story - inhabiting Marc's point of view.

I felt the frustration that someone who is going through a breakdown (or nightmare) might feel. Feeling betrayed by those close to you (Bruno and Agnes discussing the 'chemical strait-jacket' she slipped into his drink) - allowing emotion to override logic (why DIDN'T he show those pictures to Agnes??). Taking for granted that it was moving in a temporally forward direction rather than picking up at the middle moving to the beginning then winding up at the... beginning?

I am confused and betrayed, Marc is confused and betrayed. Many viewers probably felt ripped off (judging from some of the comments on this forum). What did I (Marc) imagine? What was real? Who are the villains? Are there villains? Was this a dream? Did I have a psychotic episode?

You can be angry at being tricked into believing many things in this movie. Tricked by the style that doesn't clue you into its intentions causing you to walk away unsatisfied. Tricked by the dead-end narrative lines carried by Hitchcock or Lynchian devices that don't deliver the implied payoff. And unlike a movie such as the Sixth Sense, going back to review it for hints of the ending is pointless. We all know he had a mustache in the photos. We all know he went to Hongkong by himself (don't we?).

It might be that the great sin of this movie is that its premise of irreality was never signaled. Everything appeared real - just as it might appear to a victim of mental illness.

Moustaches amères dans un Verre Vide

[Antoine_Bugleboy · 6/10 · 22 November 2006]

Everyone who writes so befuddled, about what a time-waster this film is, claims it was two hours they can't get back. For me, it felt like an hour. Objectively, it was an hour-&-a-half. Initial impressions... On the plus side : (1) Patrick Blossier's gorgeous photography, (2)Lindon & Devos's perfect embodiment of the Ordinary Couple, and, (3) a chance to see an author adapt his own novel in complete control. Downsides: (1) Philip Glass's standard, distractingly portentous score, (2) a protracted denouement that reeks of mystification-for-mystification's-sake, and.. -- as an aside -maybe this is my own fault- *for all the tea in France I couldn't recognize the novel I had read 8 year ago, in it's new cinematic form.*

Better to step on a live lizard than eat a dead snail, as my mother never said. If this review has helped anyone, I demand an explanation.

Look at Me, See Me, Do I Exist?

[gradyharp · 7/10 · 17 March 2007]

LA MOUSTACHE is a very well acted and conceived Belgian film that starts with a terrific premise that could be the opening for either a comedy or a drama and ends up wondering which path to take. Writer/director Emmanuel Carrère (with co-script writer Jérôme Beaujour) takes us on a mind trip that becomes increasingly disorienting and frustrating as the film progresses. It challenges the audience to think but then there is no payoff for the effort.

Marc (Vincent Lindon) is a handsome middle aged man married to Agnès (Emmanuelle Devos) for fifteen years and one morning, in what in retrospect is in response to a bit of relationship ennui, decides to shave off his mustache which has always been present since his marriage began. The surprise to Marc is that Agnès doesn't even notice. At work Marc quietly shows up and no one notices, not even his close associate Bruno (Hippolyte Girardot). Marc is at first perplexed, then he confronts his wife and fellow workers with the fact that he just shaved off his mustache and no one believes that he ever had one! Marc begins to search for photos showing his previous face and gradually the photos disappear and his wife denies ever seeing them, ever traveling to Bali where the photos were taken, etc. People begin to wonder about Marc's sanity and his wife suggests he seek psychiatric care. It is at this point that Marc enters a fugue state and ultimately disappears to Hong Kong on a never ending quest for discovering the truth about who he really is, whether he actually exists, whether he is the pawn in a cosmic game....it just gets more ludicrous.

Both Vincent Lindon and Emmanuelle Devos are superb in this peculiar roles and the film has solid production values. Perhaps it is the director's point to leave the audience in a confused state, one that calls forth the existential questions, but as a film it merely peters out, leaving the viewer a bit frustrated by the lack of substance. Grady Harp

Chinese Puzzle

[valis1949 · 8/10 · 22 February 2009]

LA MOUSTACHE forces the viewer to grapple with a conundrum; "What is real, and what is not?". Carrere (who wrote the novel and directed the film) is a writer and fan of the late, great science fiction author, Philip K. Dick. In fact, Carrere's, I AM ALIVE AND YOU ARE DEAD:A JOURNEY INTO THE LIFE OF PHILIP K. DICK is an excellent biography of this gifted author. Nearly all of Dick's work concerned the shifting nature of Identity and the ontological basis for Reality. This movie examines the possibility of "Change"-shaving a moustache, and the impact on a life. In a sense, the film is kind of a Black Comedy, in that such a minor adjustment would not seem to lead to such dislocation. But, that is not the case in La Moustache. The movie begs all kinds of bizarre interpretations, so don't expect an easy ride from this French 'Chinese Puzzle' of a film,

The most symbolistic act of shaving since Martin Scorsese's "Big Shave"...

[ElMaruecan82 · 7/10 · 30 August 2022]

There's just something about Vincent Lindon, a mix of charm, vulnerability and male charisma that makes his screen-presence undeniable... and effortless. Is it his droopy and sad big eyes with that expression of childish bewilderment, is it that sensual crop of brownish hair making him look younger... Lindon is the perfect candidate for characters of a few words because he's good at acting, even more at reacting. And so "La Moustache" is the perfect canvas for his talent.

Lindon is Marc, a man whose life took a strange turn after he shaved his moustache. Such a preposterous premise can be ruined by overacting and director Emmanuel Carrere (who wrote the original book) had done half the job by casting Lindon. Is his performance good enough to carry the film? My bet is that viewers will either be disappointed by the ending and look at it as a copout or will enjoy the psychological nightmare and its existential implications. Lindon's performance will either be a consolation or a consolidation.

What they won't find though is answers: "La Moustache" is one of these mystery thrillers that aren't designed to 'get you', but that are rather concerned by the atmosphere, the emotions and the way reality can gaslight a man, bringing him to sheer insanity.

Back to the film. Marc is a designer, we first see him taking a bath and chatting with his wife Agnès (Emmanuelle Devos). How would it look if he shaved his moustache? She says she never knew him without one. We know that's crucial exposition. She goes outside for a little while, he decides to cut the whole thing. When she gets back, we see Marc trying to hide his face for as long as he can, to prepare her for a big reveal... that she doesn't notice. He's surprised but doesn't blink. On the car, you can see in his face that he's distracted by that anticlimactic reaction (or non-reaction for that matter) and probably thinks what we would think in his place. What kind of joke is that?

They visit a couple friends, she goes first while he's looking for a parking spot, when he gets to their house, they don't notice either. At that point, Marc doesn't feel like having fun, there's a long story told by Serge delivered by the laconic tone of Mathieu Almaric and I suspect his rhythm was deliberately slowed down to accentuate Marc's boredom. He's obviously not interested and neither are we. All Marc wants is to know why the hell no one notices that he's shaven his moustache. He confronts Agnes in the car and the verdict falls in form of an argument: he's never had a moustache.

And so the plot thickens.

There's no need going further because this is basically the premise of the film: a big global conspiracy without any rationale behind. Even his colleagues fail to notice the big change, prompting him to start smoking again. The film is like a sort of Hitchcockian paranoid thriller à la "Wrong Man" or "The Lady Vanishes" when the heroine was told there was no old lady with her. Only the nightmare is reinforced by the absence of motives. Why would Agnes lie? Or the others?

The story slides towards the supernatural when many aspects of his life he took for granted slowly generates into nothingness, like these dreams with fictional truths or facts. Marc's life becomes a nightmare whose psychological tempo is driven by piano music, orchestrated by Carrere.

The film puzzled me, I was first intrigued by its choice to open directly with the shaving, I figured it would take ten or fifteen minutes to expose the characters, ... but since we saw him with a moustache, there's no reason to doubt he had one. And the real strength of the film is that everyone plays it totally straight, there's no villain, Agnes is totally natural and seems as confused as he is. One shortcoming is the use of ellipse at convenient moments, the car argument is cut abruptly and we never see Marc's reaction. Also the bit about the photo album is never fully explored. Did she see that he's got facial hair or not?

My wife told me that there had to be some symbolism with the facial hair, each clip of hair was a memory, or maybe it was because he didn't ask her first... she could be right even if she wasn't, I don't think it matters: such films could be easily be entrapped in their own premise and be a sort of mental claustrophobia but the third act takes us to Hong Kong, of all the places. Why? Why not? When you become estranged to your own life, better be a stranger and an anonymous, period. Marc tries to create patterns, goes to one place to another, takes the same ferry boat, mixes with the crowd, tries to earn some looks and smiles and things go that way, I didn't see where it was heading at, my patience was getting to an end and at that moment, Agnes comes back, her presence validating one of my wife's theories and there's an interesting bit with the moustache that doesn't provide a definite answer but tie the plot together and give the sense of closure that made me wish for the film to end at that moment. And it did.

Is there a definite answer? I don't know. But I know Lindon's paranoia and growing madness work so well that I could really get in his shoes, even the soaked ones. Now, why the story of a man shaving moustache and no one noticing? There could be many interpretations, I like the idea that it might be a metaphor for these initiatives we take in order to vainly earn ourselves the approval of people around us. Maybe Marc overestimated his importance and needed a humbling experience... who knows?

is there a link to his father?

[sanzo-2 · 8/10 · 3 September 2007]

At first, through the first third of the movie, I was sure that the film was an allegory about the architect's family and friends never actually noticing him (or his moustache). Things got confusing to me when he didn't press his wife about the Bali photographs (which appear to confirm he's NOT crazy), his wife is apparently trying to have him committed and he suddenly escapes to Hong Kong.

Though I did enjoy the film immensely in all its detail, I kept feeling there must have been a link between his moustache (and the identity crisis shaving it off led to) and his father's death. His father's death seemed to have discombobulated him.

Did his own confusion about his moustache symbolize his inability to digest the death of his father? Was he dreaming all of the confusion about his moustache?

In the end, I'm left with questions only. Nonetheless, I did enjoy this film and would like to know what other people think of it and what they make of it.

Do I have a mustache? Do you?

[jeuneidiot · 7/10 · 24 March 2007]

Marc is sitting in his bath one morning (yes, a grown man taking a bath in a little tub) and asks his wife, "how would you feel if I shaved off my mustache?" She doesn't think it's a great idea, for the 15 years they've been married, she's never known him without his 'stache. He shaves it off anyway, but when he sees his wife, she doesn't notice, neither do their friends at dinner that night, neither do his co-workers. Marc finally flips out, shouts at everyone, tells them he's tired of their little joke, and what do they really think. His wife and co-workers are appalled, what is he talking about, he's never had a mustache. In fact, he's imagining other things as well, or is he? This off-beat drama/thriller about a man questioning his own sanity remains fascinating throughout. Is it an elaborate plot, has he gone insane, is it just a dream? Throughout, I was intently searching for clues and trying to help the hapless man make sense of his out-of-kilter world. Emmanuelle Devos as Agnès, Marc's wife continues to astound me with her expressiveness. (See La Femme de Gilles to see her at her emoting best.) This movie is like a hunk of baguette with creamy butter. The lightness and commonness of the bread are enlivened by the rich, smooth butter. The two sides play together well, creating food synergy. The crisp crust, the fluffy interior, and the almost sweet butter with a bit of salt to enhance the flavor is difficult to resist and can become the most enticing part of a meal. 7/10

http://blog.myspace.com/locoformovies

Beautifully Shot and well acted but annoying

[peterlemass · 2/10 · 29 April 2011]

This is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review because I feel that watching this movie was a big fat waste of time - and a fairly annoying tedious time at that. If you are wondering whether to spend 1 and a half hours of your life watching this movie - I would recommend against it.

Warning spoilers below:

He shaves off his moustache. His wife then says he never had one. He has photos to prove he does. He never sits with his wife and shows them to her. He has an ID card and passport which show he has a moustache. He never shows her these either.

Then he goes to Hong Kong, on his own and writes his wife a postcard which he doesn't get to post.

Next thing we know she has been with him in Hong Kong all along. But the postcard is still in the pocket of the jacket he came in. Instead of showing her this, he throws it away!

Are we are supposed to believe it was all a dream?

Or is he switching realities?

Or is it the writer trying to tell us to accept whatever crazy non-nonsensical reality we find ourselves in without questioning it, as long as there is some saucy french woman to keep us company?

The film left me quite unsatisfied and a bit annoyed that I had sat through the whole thing.

The mustache: a symbolical story

[vetamiskolc · 10/10 · 23 August 2006]

One day a middle-aged architect of Paris suddenly cuts off his mustache, but his surrounding claim he has never had one. Somebody is wrong, and since nobody shares his opinion, he has to escape to Hongkong from the forced mental treatment. Here, in the meantime, he cuts again his regrown mustache, and because this time the change was recognized by his wife, they, again, find each other. What is this film all about? Perhaps about the importance of the everyday matters of no significance, which can still, somehow, ruin our life. About whether we really know each other, listen to each other or even our closest relationships are superficial? Or are we a witness of a disintegration of an instable personality? There is a short-story with the same title „Moustache" written by the French novelist, Maupassant in 1883, which can elucidate a different way of interpretation. The story is a real ode to the mustache by a fictitious lady. But one can read about other interesting things in that letter „ And mainly I adore mustache because it is French, pure-blooded French wear. We inherited it from our Gallic ancestors, and deserve it, like the symbol of our national character." From this point, the saucy mustache of our hero becomes the last symbol of a national identity. He and his wife live a life of a typical citizen of a Western world in the multicultural Paris. They prefer sushi to French food, travel Bali for holiday, and buy Chinese dresses and trinkets in Hongkong. His close surrounding, his wife and his friends, do not even notice the change caused by the disappearance of his mustache, but from an objective point of view (policewoman) the difference is obvious. The past is coming to an end, which is presented by the death of his father, and the vain search of the house of his childhood. This necessarily leads to the development of a split personality: is it himself who is insane or the others? Is he a victim of a conspiracy, or is he suffer from persecution mania? The never-ending ferry-boat journey between two coasts representing a loss of his footing, and the spin of the drum of a washing machine in his dream (head) becomes a symbol of a brainwash. This film is a story about a man who has lost his national identity, and if there is a chance to get it back. There is no answer but perhaps he has to travel to the other part of the world to make even his wife understand; yes there is something what we have lost, but it is good as it is. Still, the last picture is quite worrying: a man without a mustache is lying in a dark sleeplessness, like in a grave.

Always The Answer That Asks A More Beautiful Question....

[museumofdave · 6/10 · 22 March 2013]

Sometimes being puzzled is good--it creates time and space to think, allows a person to conjure answers and perhaps ask more questions; in their films, many French directors like to ask The Big Questions: Who Am I? Where Do I Fit In The Scheme of Things? How do I know someone really loves me? La Moustache, despite it's narrative peculiarities, does just this.

La Moustache is a sort of intellectual thrill ride that begins with a simple premise: "Why did nobody notice that I shaved off my mustache this morning?" Simple premise but no simple answer. I was never bored watching this film: I was somewhat mystified, and admit to being a wee bit frustrated with what appeared to be an inconclusive ending...you may not feel that way. You may, as some viewers do, find the answer to this puzzle in the middle of the film. Do not, however, expect Casablanca, The Asphalt Jungle or even The Sound of Music. Some things are not designed to deliver entertainment or simple answers, and such things may often be treasured.

A very interesting premise but the film fails to deliver

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 18 August 2007]

The basic story idea for LA MOUSTACHE is unique and intrigued me. A seemingly insignificant action occurs and then a man's entire existence changes! This occurs when the lead, on a whim, shaves off his mustache. Oddly, his wife didn't notice nor did his friends. At first, it's no big deal, but later the man becomes angry--how could they be so self-absorbed that they didn't notice or care?! Oddly, when confronted, they have no recollection that he had one, even though the audience saw he had one and saw pictures of the man with the mustache! This part of the film was interesting and pulled me in very well.

However, out of the blue, the man disappears to Hong Kong and from then on the plot really makes no sense at all. At first, I thought I'd missed something when the film ended--there were just too many dangling plot points and things that just confused me. So, I watched the "making of featurette" on the DVD and one of the main characters confided that she read the script and she was also confused and it made no sense. Some people might like this and normally I don't mind a film that leaves unanswered questions, but this goes way beyond this to just confusing and...well, stupid. It took a film that might have earned a 7 or 8 and made it, at best, a 4.

Decent acting but a bad script sink this film. But, like so many sub-par films, the DVD case made it sound amazing and worthwhile with phrases like "A paranoid thriller in the manner of Alfred Hitchcock" or "...a mini-masterwork". Yeah, right. The film had little to do with Hitchcock's style and comparisons to Hitchcock are a dime a dozen. Many of Chabrol's films (even his bad ones) are also often compared to Hitchcock's and I'm getting sick of this disingenuous advertising. One of the very few films that might really deserve this comparison is the original LES DIABOLIQUES. In contrast, LA MOUSTACHE seemed about as "Hitchcockian" as MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE III!