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Govert Miereveld is a lawyer from a small Flemish town who also teaches in a school for girls. He harbors a secret love for one of his young students, Fran, whom he loses touch with after her graduation. Some time later, Miereveld has to attend an autopsy, and the shock of the experience deeply affects his mental balance. He finds out - or he believes so - that Fran has become a popular singer. He arranges to meet her to finally reveal his feelings. An ambiguous but perhaps tragic denouement follows which might be a figment of the protagonist's disturbed mind.
L'homme au crâne rasé, El hombre del cráneo rasurado, L'Homme au crâne rasé, O Homem da Cabeça Rapada, L'uomo dal cranio rasato, Der Mann, der sich die Haare kurz schneiden ließ, O Homem da Cabeça Raspada, 머리를 짧게 깍은 사나이, 短发男人, Człowiek z ogoloną głową
Senne Rouffaer delivers a dispassionately neutral portrait of schoolteacher Govert Miereveld in this debut feature for director André Delvaux. His obsession over one of his pupils, Eufrazia 'Fran' Veerman, prompts a relocation in addition to a change of careers but he subsequently becomes increasingly unbalanced. Based on a novel by Johan Daisne and dispensed with a subtleness from Delvaux, who's widely considered the founder of contemporary Belgian cinema, the story unfolds through a series of long takes and the employment of close-ups with the actors periodically looking straight at the camera.
Miereveld comes across initially with more than a touch of misplaced overprotectiveness, possible, it's suggested, arising from an obsessive-compulsive disorder, as he engages in a series of internal monologues…
A disturbing glimpse into a fact still present nowadays is wonderfully developed into a nightmarish obsession that surpasses the boundaries of reality itself. It was made ambiguous intentionally to question the motives of the character. We are not offered to understand the protagonist's mind; the homework, however, consists in unraveling the reasons behind his actions. Whether you like it or not, we have all been there (although not necessarily because of a younger woman), and will be again in an uncertain future. It's impossible to fully escape an obsession through the means of oblivion.
At its finest moments, The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short takes us relentlessly into the mind of a delusional obsessive with disturbing accuracy. Govert's fixation on Fran is chilling because it has no clear beginning; though the first word of the film is her name, repeated like a man in a trance, we get the sense this obsession has long roots that stretch far back into the film's past, so heavy are the layers of mania at hand. The opening twenty or so minutes, where Govert prowls around the school he works in to accost Fran, an act that never happens, are some of the best for the sheer discomfort they engender because of how…
Fairly quick and simple story with a good twist and a great final shot. Senne Rouffaer wasn't in too many movies but I'm glad to be able to at least see him in this because he was great.
THE MAN WHO HAD HIS HAIR CUT SHORT. Belgium, 1966. For me the highpoint of film history is the European films of the Sixties. Andre DeVaux's art house classic is as much a signpost of that era as Last Year at Marienbad. It had been "lost" for decades but is now available on YouTube. I heard about it not from film studies but through FB.
This has to be the only professor who's in love of a student in film history with some thing resembling a conscious... -------------------------------------
A married teacher is madly in love with one of his students but when he comes to realize this is an unwanted love, he becomes totally mad in a story that blends the psychology of Bergman with the era of 70s Paranoia a la Seconds.
Just like in Five Easy Pieces lives and dies in its performance, here the cinematography and the direction of takes the center stage. The black and white photography it's so minimalistic yet like in the films of Bergman and Tarkovsky, its somewhat lyrical.
The acting is pretty good as well. It's so quite, which allows the physical performance to shine through.
However, unfortunately, the story isn't that really compelling nor fully flesh out, staying always very secretive and rather conceptual.
All in all, a nice little psychological drama about love and guilt.
The burden of unfulfilled desire. A man being quietly destroyed under the weight of his own obsession. Handles the obsessive psyche in such subdued and mundane way that the ultimate downfall becomes tragic and sad. Pretty decent and also a great final shot.
Melancholy mood piece that traces years in the life of an everyman — a married father of two who works first as a schoolteacher, then at a law firm and, finally, as a town clerk. He begins as something of a clammy stalker, in love with a female student but unable to express his feelings. When he later acts as witness to an autopsy, his regrets deepen, his sense of his own mortality increases, and by happenstance he comes across the student who has grown into a celebrated actress. His justly deserved humiliation follows. Somber, slow, although hardly lethargic. Beautifully shot and performed.
Recieved with a combination of confusion and outright derision when it came out, André Delvaux’s first feature film have gone through years of a critical re-evaluation over the decades and became a seminal movie in belgian cinema. The story is based on the flemish Johan Daisne’s novel.
Here we meet Govert (Rouffaer), a lawyer and teacher at a all-girls school in a small flemish village. He is obsessed with one of his students, Fran (Tyszkiewicz)whom he looses his connection to after her graduation. Years later he is observing an autopsy and the shock after this experience has a serious effect on his mental health.
I haven’t had a «wow» experience in movies since I was 19 years old and saw…
The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short is a deeply unnerving exploration of obsession and fantasy. Senne Rouffaer wanders through scenes in a strange state, giving enormous weight to small comments and glances. An autopsy that takes place in the middle of the film is the breaking point, and the film takes a turn into the unknown. Nothing we see can be trusted. Reality is irrelevant. This film is quietly disturbing. Despite the madness of the protagonist, there is something uncomfortably relatable about him—a warning of what delusion and obsession can lead to. A very compelling film.
Interesting and very well photographed character study of a middle aged man unhappy in love with a young woman. Senne Rouffaer is great in the main role. Drags a bit in the second act.
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