HE SAID
Going into this film, I was intrigued by the concept: That La Moustache is about a man who shaves off his mustache and nobody notices. In fact, his friends and family claim that he never had a mustache to begin with. I'm not sure what I thought when Shawn first told me about this film…but I know that I got a whole lot more than I expected.
La Moustache is an intriguing and dark psychological mystery (if you can believe that from the plot summary above). It kept me interested throughout, and had me going back and forth on different theories about what was really going on with the plot. I love movies like that…the ones that make you think, and keep you waiting for the final reveal... for that "oh, now I get it" moment. I love that moment.
And that is exactly why this film failed miserably in my eyes. After all of that…after all the emotions this film provoked…after all the mystery and intrigue….after really thinking that Shawn had stumbled upon a true gem of an independent film….it turned out to be about absolutely nothing. That's right. NOTHING.
Nothing is explained. Nothing is revealed. The finale makes absolutely no sense, and the worst part of all is that it wasn't just me that didn't get it. Even the director said that he didn't know what the film was about. What a crock! The same director wrote the book this film is based on! How do you write a book, and not even know what it means for God's sake?!
(1, 2, 3, 4, 5....deep breath...)
And so here is my problem with La Moustache: Throughout the entire viewing of this film I had formulated multiple theories as to what was really going on. Was the main character moving forward in time while everyone else was moving backwards? That would have been cool…but, uh, no…wrong. Wait! Is the main character having memories of the future, or maybe living inside a dream? That would really wrap things up nicely! Again, no. Maybe all the other characters in the movie have been screwing with this guy's head all along. That would have been a lame ending, but it sill would have worked. Unfortunately, no… nope…nothing…nada…thanks for playing. Thanks for wasting my time!
He Said: This movie pissed me off. It doesn't make any sense. And the worst part is that it's not supposed to…that's the whole stupid point! La Moustache is like one big F-you to the audience, compliments of director Emmanuel Carrere. I am calling bulls**t on this film. Skip it.
SHE SAID
I left the 2005 French film La Moustache with only one certainty: Vincent Lindon looks better without a mustache, hands down. The rest is up for interpretation.
The film begins with Marc Thiriez (Lindon) asking his wife, Agnes (Emmanuelle Devos), as she's walking out the door if he should shave off his mustache. She remarks that she likes it and wouldn't know him without it. In true male fashion, he then immediately shaves it off.
She returns and, ironically - or mysteriously or irritatingly, just depending on your perspective - doesn't notice that he shaved it off at all. And neither do their closest friends. Or his co-workers. Marc gets increasingly agitated and paranoid about all of this and becomes convinced it's all a grand practical joke on him. His wife and friends start to worry for his sanity, and Marc himself even begins to wonder whether he had a mustache or not (even resorting to bringing a picture up to stranger and asking her if he has a mustache in the photo).
When he begins hearing Agnes's plans to have him committed, he leaves in a panic to Hong Kong. And rides the ferry back and forth for days. And then meets his wife at an undisclosed island location - and she now notices he has a mustache and says he looks wonderful, with or without it.
In between the beginning and the ending - in addition to the fact that he may or may not have had a mustache - we learn that Marc's father may or may not be alive, he and Agnes may or may not have best friends, and she may or may not be trying to make him believe he's crazy. Liberties are taken with the concepts of time, space, perception, memory, and just about anything else we humans use to make sense of a bizarre world.
Director Emmanuel Carrere said of the enigma: "The thing about this story is that its meaning escapes me, just like the book's reader and, now, the film's viewer." (The movie is adapted from his own novel.) And, admittedly, this is the problem I have with the movie. I mean I don't mind the meaning escaping me once in a while, but I damn sure want there to be one that could have been captured, at least.
She Said: It's beautifully filmed and worth watching - if you're prepared for a movie whose meaning even escapes the director, that is.
THEY SAID
After reading each other's reviews, The Eskimo and Shawn always discuss the reviews (and the film, too, of course). Listen to the La Moustache audio commentary here or in the player below. (And find out which film The Eskimo picked to review next.)
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