The Hairdresser's Husband (1990)

This is a movie of the genre of French films that is really not about anything in particular. At the end, you are left wondering why stop here? But I love French films like that and so that is no problem—if it drives you crazy, this might not be for you. The thing that this movie does amazingly well is to demonstrate the creation of a sexual fetish. Patrice Leconte is the very talented film maker who tells this somewhat odd story in such gorgeous detail that we are swept along, even though it is hard to at times. The center of attention is Antoine (Jean Rochefort). From early adolescence he has desired only one thing in life, to be a hairdresser's husband. Why? That is the best part—he loved the physical closeness that the hairdresser has when she cuts your hair. She and the dental hygienist are the only two people who rub their breasts up against you for professional reasons that do not involve sex. So it was exciting for a young man, and he associated arousal with the sights and smells of a hair salon. A little hair tonic, who can resist?

The amazing part is that he finds someone who wants nothing more than he does—he wants to spend all his time in the salon, to live there night and day, and when he is there, he is the great seducer. They are in a blissful place, deeply entranced with each other. His lady love, Mathilde (Anna Galiena), is caught up in a fear that such a life that they lead cannot continue. He doesn’t quite explain to her that as long as they have the location, he will desire her—that is the error in his way, and the outcome is very sad.