The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.0

The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 22, 2024

Patrice Leconte's "The Hairdresser's Husband" (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include archival interview with Patrice Leconte; archival interview with Anna Galiena; and vintage trailer. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Nearly the entire film is a collection of memories presented as overlapping flashbacks. In the earliest ones, teenager Antoine (Henry Hocking) is seen falling in love with a lonely hairdresser and fantasizing about marrying her when he becomes a man. He observes her from afar and asks her to wash and cut his hair as often as possible. When the hairdresser unexpectedly commits suicide, she shatters Antoine’s heart, and for decades he refuses to approach another woman.

In another flashback, now well past his prime, Antoine (Jean Rochefort), reveals how he fell in love with a different hairdresser, Mathilde (Anna Galiena). He observed Mathilde from afar and frequently received a haircut from her too, and then one day, when there was no one in her tiny salon, asked her to marry him. At first, Mathilde did not respond to his offer, likely because she tested him, but then, much to his surprise and delight, she accepted to be his wife.

Several other flashbacks provide glimpses of what Antoine describes as the happiest time of his life. He spent as much time in the salon with Mathilde, watching her work, or simply reading a magazine while waiting for a client to come in. They laughed, made love, and a few times did silly things that only teenagers would think of, like mixing up cocktails with different kinds of colognes and drinking them. They felt alive, for a while at least, before the inevitable headaches would make them feel miserable for a day or two.

But like all good things, Antoine and Mathilde’s relationship had to end, too. He knew it would, but deep inside he was convinced that Mathilde would outlive him. She was younger than him. Antoine had thought about the end, but its inevitability never interfered with his happiness, so he kept loving Mathilde as best as he could. When it all ended, it was as if the entire world had reset itself, demanding that he share some of the pain others had always had to live with.

Patrice Leconte’s The Hairdresser’s Husband pretends to reconstruct a simple love story, but it is a pretty special catalyst of feelings and sensations that we all have stored in a sacred place. In this place, we have vivid memories of our first romantic kiss, the first time we made love, the euphoria we experienced when we were told that we were loved just as we did our partners. Next to them are the memories of unfortunate confrontations, painful separations and losses, and of course the missed opportunities that could have transformed our lives as we dreamed when we were younger. While Antoine recalls the women he loved and lost, the film tricks the viewer’s mind into releasing some of these hidden feelings and sensations and, while it lasts, reexperience them.

All of this is done without infusing the process with dreary melodrama. There is a lot of beauty, humor, and some drama, and they are all mixed with authentic sincerity making the visuals incredibly attractive. Guiseppe Tornatore’s Malèna is shot in a very similar manner, which is why it plays with the mind in an almost identical way.

The music is crucial for the intended atmosphere. It has a distinct exotic quality that brilliantly complements the warm visuals and, more importantly, completes Antoine’s character arc. The dance acts are unquestionably the best highlights of the entire film.

Leconte worked with cinematographer Eduardo Serra, one of his most trusted collaborators, with whom he shot many of his greatest looking films, including Tango, Yvonne's Perfume, and Love Street.

Kino Lorber’s release introduces a recent 4K restoration of The Hairdresser’s Husband completed at Hiventy in France.

The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, The Hairdresser's Husband arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

I have a very old R2 DVD release of The Hairdresser's Husband, which for years was one of my favorite French imports. It offers an anamorphic presentation of the film, which looks dated now but is still rather decent. So, I was very much looking forward to the Blu-ray release because it is sourced from a recent 4K restoration.

Unfortunately, I have to report that this 4K restoration, which was completed at Hiventy in France, is yet another disappointing digital reimagination. Indeed, it gives the film a very awkward greenish hue/tint that essentially neutralizes the warm, light yet very prominent yellow that has always been present in this film. Also, there are some pretty obvious anomalies in the dynamic range of the visuals that create what I like to refer to as digital flatness. In some areas, this digital flatness creates the impression that filtering was applied for no apparent reason. All of this is very, very disappointing because it is extremely easy to tell that the raw files are of exceptionally high quality. The density levels of the visuals, for instance, are vastly superior to those of the DVD release I have. Multiple close-ups also boast fantastic delineation, sharpness, and clarity. The entire film is immaculate as well. Too bad. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The audio has been fully restored, and it is very easy to tell. On my old R2 DVD release, the exotic music sounds a bit thin now (plus it is PAL-pitched), but here it is fuller and quite rich. I like what I heard on my system a lot. The dialog and narration are very clear and without any traces of age-related anomalies. The English translation is excellent, but I would have preferred to see bigger subtitles, like the ones British label Eureka Entertainment uses.

The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• For the Love of a Hairdresser - an interview with Patrice Leconte. In French, with English subtitles. (20 min).

• The Hairdresser's Confessions - an interview with star Anna Galiena. In French, with English subtitles. (19 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for The Hairdresser's Husband. In French, with English subtitles. (2 min).

The Hairdresser's Husband Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Patrice Leconte's The Hairdresser's Husband pretends to reconstruct a simple love story, but it is a pretty special catalyst of feelings and sensations that we all have stored in a sacred place. I have always liked it and kept a copy of it in my library. This Blu-ray release introduces a recent 4K restoration of it, completed by Hiventy in France, but I found it quite underwhelming.