Golden Braid

{{Use Australian English|date=July 2015}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Golden Braid

| image = Golden Braid 1990.jpg

| caption =

| director = Paul Cox

| producer =

| writer = Paul Cox
Barry Dickins

| based_on = story La Chevelure by Guy de Maupassant

| starring = Chris Haywood
Gosia Dobrowolska
Paul Chubb
Jo Kennedy

| music =

| cinematography =

| editing =

| studio = Film Victoria
Australian Film Commission
Illumination Films

| distributor = Beyond

| released = {{Film date|1991|02}}

| runtime = 87 minutes

| country = Australia

| language = English

| budget = A$900,000David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p129-130

| gross =

}}

Golden Braid is a 1991 Australian film about a man who masturbates with a braid of old hair he finds in an antique cupboard, directed by Paul Cox. Cox later called it "quite a funny film, but very few people get it."[https://archive.today/20121209070803/http://www.signis.net/malone/tiki-index.php?page=Paul+Cox&bl "Interview with Paul Cox", Signet, 13 January 2001]. Retrieved 18 November 2012{{cite news|title=Locked by a golden obsession|newspaper=The Age Entertainment Guide|date=1 March 1991|page=4}}

It was entirely funded by the Australian Film Commission.

Plot

Bernard is a clockmaker who is having an affair with Terese, a Salvation Army worker married to Joseph. He muses about the emotional connections humans form with antiques. He then finds a golden braid of a woman's hair in an 18th century cabinet and becomes obsessed with it. While becoming more distant from Terese, Bernard secretly strokes the hair, whispers to it and ultimately masturbates by putting the hair around his penis. Eventually, he is able to move on and reconcile with Terese.

Cast

Awards

The film received five nominations at the 1990 AFI Awards: Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound.

References

{{reflist}}