Lola (1961)

In Nantes, a bored young man named Roland is letting life pass him by when he has a chance meeting with a woman he knew in his teens: she's Lola, now a cabaret dancer. She's also the ... See full summary »

Director:

Jacques Demy

Writer:

Jacques Demy

Stars:

Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anouk Aimée	...	Lola / Cécile
Marc Michel	...	Roland Cassard
Jacques Harden	...	Michel
Alan Scott	...	Frankie
Elina Labourdette	...	Madame Desnoyers
Margo Lion	...	Jeanne, Michel's Mother
Annie Duperoux	...	Cécile Desnoyers (as Annie Dupéroux)
Catherine Lutz	...	Claire, the bar owner
Corinne Marchand	...	Daisy
Yvette Anziani	...	Madame Frédérique
Dorothée Blanck	...	Dolly (as Dorothée Blank)
Isabelle Lunghini	...	Nelly
Annick Noël	...	Ellen
Ginette Valton	...	Hair Stylist's Mistress
Anne Zamire	...	Maggie

Storyline

In Nantes, a bored young man named Roland is letting life pass him by when he has a chance meeting with a woman he knew in his teens: she's Lola, now a cabaret dancer. She's also the devoted single mother of a young son, and she harbors the hope that his father, who deserted her during pregnancy, will return. Roland realizes he's in love with Lola, and this gives sudden purpose to his life. But how does she feel? Woven into the story are an American sailor who likes Lola and is kind to her son; a girl on the eve of her 14th birthday, when all things seem romantic; the girl's mother, a lonely widow; and, an aging woman who misses her son. And who's the rich guy in the Cadillac?

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Plot Keywords:

dancer | chance meeting | harbor | pregnancy | single mother | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

14 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Donna di vita

Filming Locations:

Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rome Paris Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jacques Demy's first film is a tribute to Max Ophuls.

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Connections

Referenced in A Woman Is a Woman (1961)

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Soundtracks

"Le Clavier bien tempèré"
Music by Johann Sebastian Bach (as Bach)

User Reviews

Not a masterpiece, but very, very likable

Originally conceived as a Technicolor musical but shot on the cheap (so cheap they couldn't even afford a sound crew), Jacques Demy's Lola isn't exactly the masterpiece critics claimed back in 1960, but it is one of the more likable films of the French New Wave, largely because it's less concerned with scoring stylistic points and more interested in people. What's particularly refreshing is that Demy likes these people – all of them, without exception – and never judges them, and that generosity of spirit carries it a long way. Following the role coincidence plays in our lives through its characters whose paths and hearts cross, it staves off complete schmaltz with an awareness that one person's happy ending is often another's missed possibility of happiness: Demy may not be able to resist giving one character a Hollywood Happy Ending, but it does come at a price to another, while other characters lives are left unresolved. There are a few moments where Anouk Aime's tart with a heart overdoes the Marilyn impersonations (an affectation of the character rather than the actress) and Allan Scott's English dialogue sounds like it's been dubbed by a German reading phonetically, but they're fairly fleeting irritants and there's more than enough elsewhere to make up for it, not least Raoul Coutard's lovingly shot black and white Scope photography of Nantes.