Hair
Milos Forman:
Hair (USA, West Germany, 1979)
121 min. - English - Finnish subtitles
K-11
Milos Forman’s Hair is based on the popular musical dealing with the hippie movement, sexual emancipation and Vietnam War. Accompanied by excellent music, the film shows the double Oscar-winning director’s proficiency as a director and a visual designer. If you’ve managed to miss this musical masterpiece on screen, it's the high time to experience it - if only for the lyrics of Sodomy!
The plot is simple. Claude, young country boy from Oklahoma, decides to join the army and go to Vietnam. Before his departure Claude travels to New York where he meets a bunch of hippies. They sing, they do drugs, they free their minds from the tight bonds of the society. Claude falls for the jet-setting Sheila, which also changes his plans of going to war.
Last August was the 40th anniversary of the first Finnish-language performance of Hair. The Tampere Popteatteri production became a gigantic success in Finland. The message still comes through, even if the portrayal of the hippie movement may at times seem funny. Yet the do-good message, great choreographies and wonderful songs manage to outweigh the occasional bursts of laughter. Let the hair grow and the energy of the sun flow, it’s the age of Aquarius!
Hair is truly a blast from the past. In addition to the film itself, a nostalgia trip is guaranteed in the form of the film copy: the Rokumentti copy is a mono version that has travelled a long way to Joensuu. We offer you crackle and sputter, scratch and scrape. If you don’t find the modern digital shine eye-pleasing, come to this screening to experience a piece of old-time spirit where the life lived can be seen and heard.
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Miloš Forman
Miloš Forman is a Czech film director, screenwriter, actor and professor. Two of his films, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus, are among the most celebrated in the history of film, both garnering him the Academy Award as a director. He was also nominated for The People vs. Larry Flynt.
