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La Moustache

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Wikipedia article




'La Moustache' (in English, 'The Moustache') is a French film from 2005, directed by Emmanuel Carrre and starring Vincent Lindon, and adapted from Carrre's own novel. The film features music from Philip Glass. The film was awarded the 'Label Europa Cinemas' prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and is currently distributed theatrically in the United States by the Cinema Guild with a DVD release handled by Koch-Lorber Films. The film is based on a 1986 book of the same title by Carrere.

Plot



Marc Thiriez, a middle aged Parisian, asks his wife if he should shave off the moustache he has sported for most of his adult life. His wife, Agns, wryly comments that she wouldn't recognize him without it, yet as she leaves, Marc shaves the moustache off. Upon her return, Agns is angry Marc did not let her in the door when she rang; Marc lies and says he broke his shoelace. Marc attempts to surprise her with his clean-shaven face, but gets no reaction. In the car on the way to a party, Marc asks Agns if she notices anything, but she changes the subject. They visit their friends Serge (Agns' ex) and Nadia. Serge tells a story about Agns: during their relationship, she was sneaky but refused to admit her guilt even when everyone was certain she was at fault. Agns again denies that she lied. Frustrated that Serge and Nadia also do not notice his shaven moustache, Marc fights with Agns in the car as they return home, frightening her. As they lie in bed that night, another fight ensues as Agns tells Marc he's never had a moustache and that she fears for his sanity. Agns phones Nadia, who claims Marc has not had a moustache in fifteen years, but Marc insists she told their friends to ignore his mustache. Agns takes a sleeping pill.

Marc finds a photo album of pictures from their holiday in Bali, all of which show him sporting his moustache. When he confronts Agns with these pictures, she ignores him and changes the subject, leaving him even more confused. Marc grows more paranoid and confused when even his co-workers don't acknowledge that he has shaven his moustache. Marc digs through the trash to find his moustache hairs, scaring Agns. She suggests Marc see a psychiatrist whom her friend Franois knew. Agns insists on buying Marc a brightly patterned jacket ("a clown's jacket" as Marc describes it).

As Marc gets his photograph taken for his work badge, he asks a woman if she notices a difference between the photograph that was just taken and his photograph which appears on his I.D. card. She remarks on his moustache, and Marc asks her several times to confirm that he has a moustache in the photograph.

Marc checks his answering machine to find a message from his father. Agns' friend Bruno calls and Marc tells him to stop kidding him about his moustache. Bruno assures Marc that Marc has not had a moustache in fifteen years. Marc hangs up on him. In the kitchen, he tells Agns to call his parents and tell them that he won't be able to come to their house for dinner the next day. Agns calls Marc's mother, but gently reminds Marc that his father is dead and has been so for a year. Confused, Marc speaks of their best friends Serge and Nadia, to which Agns replies that she doesn't know who they are and that Marc must be delusional. Very upset and questioning his grip on sanity, Marc goes to bed, and Agns gives him a sleeping pill.

Marc awakes to hear Agns and Bruno planning to have Marc committed to a psychiatric hospital. Marc quickly dresses and flees the house. In a taxi, he attempts to find his mother, yet due to the sleeping pill and the heavy rain, he cannot find the house in which he grew up. Marc tries to call his mother, but the number he dials is not a valid phone number. He calls Agns, tells her he is at his mother's, and asks her to pick him up. When Marc sees Agns and Bruno leave his apartment, he rushes inside, grabs his passport, puts on shoes, breaks his shoelace and leaves. He flees to Hong Kong, the first available flight out of Paris. His passport photo sports a moustache.

Marc journeys through Hong Kong. He writes a postcard to apologize to Agns but does not send it. As he is about to board a plane back to France, he changes his mind and spends a day traveling back and forth on the Star Ferry. After the ferry stops for the night, he pays local sailors to take him with them on their boat. Marc arrives at an unspecified village in China. Marc stays at a hotel there for a period of time, becoming known with the locals, and regrows his moustache.

Marc arrives back at the hotel one day to find Agns awaiting him, as though she has been with him the entire trip, to his shock and confusion. Agns makes fun of his brightly patterned "clown" jacket and asks him why he bought it, hoping he will not wear it in Paris. They go out to a casino and meet new friends that Agns knows but Marc does not. Marc is shown recent photos of the four of them in which Marc has a moustache. Agns notices Marc's irritation and says if he doesn't like their new friends they don't have to ever see them again when they get back to Paris. Marc throws away the postcard he wrote in Hong Kong.

Back at the hotel, Agns suggests that Marc shave his moustache so she can see him without it at least once. He does so, and Agns comments upon how good he looks without it.

Production notes



The Hong Kong village scenes were filmed in Ko Lau Wan, Sai Kung Peninsula, Hong Kong.

'La Moustache' captures an element of suspense, though the actions and plot are ambiguous. Many critics have said that the film's events are not literal, but metaphorical and are symbolic of Marc's loss of identity (or of a possible mid-life crisis). Whether the final scene was meant to be what really happened or was just an idealised dream of what Marc wished had happened is unspecified.

Cast



* Vincent Lindon Marc Thiriez

* Emmanuelle Devos Agns Thiriez

* Mathieu Amalric Serge Schaeffer

* Hippolyte Girardot Bruno

* Cylia Malki Samira

* Macha Polikarpova Nadia Schaeffer

* Fantine Camus Lara Schaeffer

* Denis Mnochet The server

* Frdric Imberty Caf manager

* Brigitte Bmol Policewoman

References




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