Short film on cutting hair

I know what you mean about those horrible talk shows, profiting on peer pressure. This was nothing like that. Just a very small documentary film, trying to capture a personality. Noone talked in this film except her (well, the hairdresser said a few words). I wonder sometimes how people can open up to the camera. Perhaps she got more gutsy when she saw herself?

We don´t get a lot of talk shows on tv here, I have seen Oprah, and she´s had a few of those "make over" shows where they clone people to all look alike. And there are early evening shows from Sweden who have similar features, like taking a person once a week and making them over. Sometimes well, but mostly, not (in my opinion).

I just have to tell you: I was watching tv last night and saw, by chance, this short, norwegian film about a woman, about 70, who wanted to cut her hair, for the first time in her life! Thing was, she had been very dominated by her mother, who simply wouldn´t let her cut it, and when the mother died, which had been very recent (they lived just across the street, she hadn´t been allowed to move away either!) she felt so liberated, and now she wanted to cut her hair, as an act of independence, something she had dreamed of doing since she was a child.

Now, you would think she had really long hair, but it was really only a bit below the shoulders, nowhere near BSL or anything. But she was really elegant, really beautiful in it. And it didn´t look cut, for sure. So, the filmcrew followed her to the hairdressers, but, anticlimax! she didn´t dare cut it. You could really see the fright in her. She was just terribley afraid - I don´t think I have ever been that scared of anything! She got out of there with mission undone. The hairdresser, a man, was really very sensitive, encouraging but respectful.

I have never been so sorry to see someone not cut their hair!  It really made me sad. I would have wished for her the freedom to dare to be a bit "ugly"!