European films are known for their creativity when it comes to the story and they are also known for usually avoiding happy ends and opting for bitter ends instead (there is also a joke that while in a Hollywood movie you can't kill a child or an animal, in French movies they are the first to die). As for French movies, they often get the label "not understandable"... Though La Moustache (The Moustache), directed by Emmanuel Carrère is hard to understand clearly for the first time, for the second time you pay more attention to all the details and can't stop thinking of them until you understand everything.
Not even critics were sure what the movie had to say, some of them thought it was only symbolic, maybe they were right, who knows? One thing is sure: it is a great film with values and melancholy, not to mention the ironic lines. No wonder why the jury in Cannes awarded it the Label Europa Cinemas prize back in 2005.
The story's base is the following: Despite her wife's comment that she likes him with moustache, Marc decides to shave it off after wearing it for basically all his adult years. When he - overly excited about his wife's opinion - asks her if she sees anything strange about his face, she seems like she didn't recognize anything. The same thing happens with his friends and colleagues - no-one seems to realize something is missing from Marc's face. Actually, they all say he has never ever had a moustache.
I recommend this movie if you like to think about movies a lot and also if you like that special aftertaste European independent films leave in your mouth.
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