(2005) dir. Emmanuel Carrère
viewed: 03/04/07

I had read that this film was a sort of interesting psychological thriller and had it as something potentially interesting to watch.  It’s about a guy who decides to shave off his mustache, but after he does it, everyone in his life including his wife and co-workers all deny that he ever had a mustache.  This seems silly, and it is, but it disturbs him and causes him to begin to question reality and whether people are intentionally screwing with him.

The film has a low tone and a slow pace.  Nothing eventful happens exactly.  For instance, when he escapes to Hong Kong, he gets on a ferry, rides the ferry, looks at Hong Kong, gets to the airport, goes through security, then changes his mind and goes back to the ferry, rides the ferry.  He writes a postcard and never sends it.  Eventually throwing it into the water.  It’s subtle, I guess you could say. There is an element of schizophrenia, a low, pervasive, slowly-growing nightmare.

My problem with it is that the ending is also subtle.  So subtle as to leave you not knowing what to make of the story exactly.  That’s not a problem for me, but it lacked anything overly meaningful.  It’s hard to say.  I liked the film largely, some of the shots were quite interesting.  But ultimately, it was not compelling.

The funny part is that I shaved this day for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks, so it made for a good, timely viewing.  Luckily, people mostly noticed.  Except my kids, without much teasing.