Wednesday, September 13----The French can be credited for many things....romantic love, opulent architecture, delicious (and fattening) foods, and most of the "isms" of the last few centuries. In the middle of the 20th century, the "ism de jour" was existentialism, a world view that was both personal and communal in describing the human condition and man's place in the universe. With the help of such seminal figures as Jean Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, existentialism became a major literary and artistic movement, influencing the world of letters, theater, and film.

In what can only be described as an existential thriller, novelist-turned-director Emmanuel Carrere, adapting his award-winning 1986 best seller, tells such a tale of existential angst in LA MOUSTACHE, which screens at the Festival on Friday at 4:00pm at the Vineyard Playhouse.

The film stars Vincent Lindon as the male half of an attractive and successful Parisian couple, who seem to be the envy of wedded bliss. Defined in many ways by his distinctive facial hair, which he has sported since young adulthood, he believes that his distinctive moustache gives him an insouciant air of mystery, sex appeal and manliness.

Vincent Lindon

When he decides on a whim to shave off the mustache before guests assemble for a dinner party, little does he know that his act of inconsequence will catapult him into an existential crisis that he is ill prepared for. After shaving off his facial hair (an act akin to Samson's locks being cut off), he waits for his wife to notice. She doesn't. At the dinner party, his friends fail to notice any kind of change either.

In an ironic twist, when he finally announces what he has one, his loving wife and his dinner guests all insist that he never had a moustache to begin with. The film deftly plays with this "did he or didn't he" notion, as Marc freefalls into crisis and possibly insanity. Is he going mad or is he the victim of some elaborate conspiracy? Carrere deftly plays out the drama as a metaphor for supposed stability that can be unhinged by a seemingly innocent act. In doing so, his novel, written years before the current post-911 world anxiety, seems remarkably current as a signpost for an unease that has become the new normal.

Carrere, who makes his feature directorial debut, gets incredible mileage out of the film's deceptively simple catalyst. Told entirely from the point of view of the beleaguered protagonist, the film can be read as a deft bit of sarcasm about how men and women perceive the same situation differently.

Vincent Lindon + Emmanuelle Devos

The film, which also stars Emmanuelle Devos as his loving (?) partner and Mathieu Amalric and Macha Polkarpova as his devoted (?) friends, was a major hit in its native France, and also won top awards at various festivals, including the Europa Cinemas Prize at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival and the FIPRESCI International Critics Award at the 2005 Chicago Film Festival.

The film was also hailed at such prestigious festivals as Rio de Janeiro, the French Cinepanorama Film Festival in Hong Kong and the Mar del Plata Film Festival in Argentina. The film is currently in theatrical release and is being distributed by the Cinema Guild, a New York-based arthouse distribution company. This is one heady mystery that keeps audiences guessing about what is real or what is paranoid delusion in such an inventive way that it also announces the arrival of a major new film talent from France.

Sandy Mandelberger
Festivals Editor