Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Hair Opera (1992)
Director: Yuri Obitani
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Obitani is a trainee opera singer and aspiring film-maker casting about for ways to entertain his audience when he learns of an exhibition by woman artist Yosefu Kosuzu; it comprises neatly mounted and dated specimens of pubic hair from all the men she has slept with. Obitani excitedly interviews her and then invites her to exchange film 'letters' with him. The film is mostly a compilation of those letters, chronicling a conceptual relationship which begins to break down when it emerges that what Obitani wants most is a place in Kosuzu's next exhibition. Already a classic of Japanese independent cinema, this is the most startling first-person film-making since David Holzman's famous Diary. The climactic shaving scene left me almost on the floor.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Yuri Obitani
Cast: Yuri Obitani, Yosefu Kosuzu, Tomoko Kamisaki
Duration: 61 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now