The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (1966)

Govert Miereveld is a schoolteacher who has an unhealthy obsession with Fran, one of his students. On the day of Fran's graduation, Govert decides that he needs to tell her.

Director:

André Delvaux

Writers:

Johan Daisne (novel), Anna De Pagter

Stars:

Senne Rouffaer, Beata Tyszkiewicz, Hector Camerlynck

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Senne Rouffaer	...	Govert Miereveld
Beata Tyszkiewicz	...	Eufrazia 'Fran' Veerman
Hector Camerlynck	...	Prof. Mato
Hilde Uitterlinden	...	Beps
Annemarie Van Dijk	...	Corra
Hilda Van Roose	...	Teacher Freken
François Beukelaers	...	Patient
Arlette Emmery	...	One of the Seven
Paul S'Jongers	...	Assistent of Prof. Mato
Luc Philips	...	City Councillor
François Bernard	...	Judge Brantink
Vic Moeremans	...	Director
Maurits Goossens	...	Principal
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yvonne Lex	...	Dubbing song of Beata Tyszkiewicz
Dora van der Groen	...	Dubbing of Beata Tyszkiewicz (voice)

Storyline

A schoolteacher (Miereveld or "field of ants") is entranced by one of his students (Fran). Not being able to have his love fulfilled he tries to escape it and moves house and job. Working for the justice department he is invited by the coroner to join a post mortem examination which leads to an encounter with his former student and the possibility to no longer escape his love.

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Plot Keywords:

psychological drama | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Award: Grand Prix Khalimer du Festival du Jeune Cinéma de Hyères (1966).

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Quotes

[repeated line]
Govert Miereveld: She said: "See you soon".

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Connections

References Dumbo (1941)

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Soundtracks

Ballade la vie véritable
Music by Frédéric Devreese
Sung by Yvonne Lex

User Reviews

A Lolita story with a Flemish touch and twist.

Belgian cinema isn't exactly world renowned but this is one pretty classy and well made, little, unknown movie that is definitely worth seeing.

It's a movie told in a very simplistic form, with only a handful of characters and a pretty straight-forward story. I don't say this as a negative aspect really, since it actually is what makes this movie so great and powerful to watch.

I loved the inner conflict of the main character. He's a middle-aged, married with children, very average looking schoolteacher, that has fallen in love with one of his young students (played by a 28-year old by the way). He knows that it's wrong, which is also one of the reasons why he doesn't pursue her but that doesn't make him less in love with her of course. He wants to tell her everything and be next to her all the time but yet he is holding back, even on graduation day, when he knows that afterward she will be gone from his life. It's like his heart and mind are in constant battle with each other and his reasoning keeps wining it. However because of this he also is never truly happy.

And this are only the first 15 minutes of the movie or so. It's a very rich movie, filled with all different kinds of psychological dramatical elements, that mostly play out in the main character's mind, without given him that much dialog. In that regard it also is a real subtle movie, filled with some subtle little characteristics and mannerisms that show what must be going on in the main character's mind at the moment. A great accomplishment- and collaboration between director André Delvaux and actor Senne Rouffaer.

During some of the movie its scenes, you could also definitely tell André Delvaux had a background in documentary film-making. The movie has some beautiful looking and setup moments, that also at the same time feel like something highly unusual and original, especially for its time. It helps to give the movie some unforgettable moments and help to make it all work out all the more powerful and effective.

The movie also has some twists in it, that really come out of nowhere but therefore of course work out all the better. It makes the movie its script also more intelligent than it perhaps might seem at first sight. It's a powerful and multi-layered movie, that however luckily never becomes an heavy or difficult one as well to watch.

A movie well worth searching out.

8/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Details

Country:

Belgium

Language:

Dutch

Release Date:

5 September 1966 (France)

Also Known As:

The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short

Filming Locations:

Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Company Credits

Production Co:

Belgische Radio en Televisie (BRT), Ministerie van Nationale Opvoeding en Kultuur

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1