This is a strange little film. Intriguing to say the least. A man sees a woman he loves, she is a hairdresser, he then marries her hence Hairdresser's Husband. It is well shot and the strange part comes because he asks the hairdresser to marry him the first time he meets her.There is an intense love between them and this plays out to the end of the film. Not a huge amount happens in the film but it is just a beautiful little film to watch. If you watch it with a Hairdresser you love then this may pay dividends. You can ask her to marry you straight after the film because with this film love at first sight and marrying almost immediately is the only option.I can't really see this happening in reality to two people not so quick as this but when love shows it's beautiful face I suppose you just have to seize the moment. Great film!

Beautiful cinematography does not a good film make. This film has wonderful cinematography and some really delightful scenes, but it is lacking in drama or any sort of real character archs. The relationship between Antoine and Mathilde is unreal and lacking substance. It's difficult to see what ties these two together at all, except for the way Antoine objectifies and idolizes Mathilde. The film has a fairy tale quality, especially with the way the film is lit; with Mathilde looking positively heavenly and angelic, but in a hyperreal way. It succeeds in that we truly feel the fascination Antoine feels and the adoration he feels for female hairdressers but without the film moving into any sort of deeper level, the story fails to move the viewer. It stays on a superficial level and, if anything, the character of Antoine seems somewhat despicable, the way he objectifies these hairdressers. I feel the film could've been much more powerful if the director decided to dig deep into his characters' obsessions instead of creating a shallow homage to objectifying hairdressers.But the cinematography was gorgeous, and the dance sequences were nice.

This is another romantic/drama that only the French seem to know how to make. The key to these films isn't necessarily the story but the casting and its hard not to like a film that has Jean Rochefort. This is a story about a man named Antoine (Rochefort) who has always dreamed of marrying a hairdresser. The film starts with Antoine at the age of 12 and we see him constantly going to get his hair cut by the local hairdresser who is a widow and very bosomy. She dies unexpectedly and Antoine spends the next 40 years searching for another one that he can try and marry. Now he's 52 and he meets Mathilde (Anna Galiena) who is the new owner of a shop and during his first haircut with her he blurts out "Will you marry me"? She ignores him but three weeks later he returns and she says "Yes". They get married and seem perfectly suited to one another. They rarely go out and don't seem to have much contact with the outside world. Mathilde gets depressed by listening to her clients problems and she is under the assumption that one day they're love will end.*****SPOILER ALERT*****One day it starts to pour down rain and they make passionate love. Mathilde gets up and says she is going out for yogurt but she never returns. She ends up jumping into the ocean and drowning herself. Later Antoine finds a note that says she didn't want to go through the experience of not being in love anymore. Some have regarded this as one of Patrice Leconte's finest films but I have to think that "The Man On The Train" is certainly better and a lot more interesting. But this is a romantic fable that for the most part works. The best thing about this film are the two leads of Rochefort and Galiena. Rochefort is perfectly charming as the whimsy Antoine who spent nearly his entire life searching for the perfect hairdresser. And Galiena is of course beautiful and even though the gap in their age is noticeable we can still understand why she would find him enchanting. But this is far from being a classic and the films faults lie in the lack of character development. Who is Antoine and why doesn't he work? And why would a beautiful woman like Mathilde be such a shut-in? She says she has no photo's of herself when she was younger but we never find out why. Leconte is content to just have these two get together and allow the viewer to witness their romantic life. The film ends on a very sad note and it has Antoine telling a customer that the hairdresser will be right back. Antoine has spent his life finding her and he's not about to give her up. Even though the story has many incomplete plotlines the film does work effectively as a romantic fable.

A simple story. Like a fairy tale. Two main characters. Great acting with special applause to Jean ROCHEFORT. It is about love and senses (smells, odors, music, strokes...). It is also very funny. Most of the film takes place in the salon: we get an increased intimacy with the characters. I recommend this movie as a must see. My vote: 9 / 10.