Lola (1981)

Ten years after the war, West Germany's market economy is booming. Into an unnamed city that's rife with corruption comes a new building commissioner, Herr von Bohm, committed to progress ... See full summary »

Director:

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Writers:

Pea Fröhlich, Peter Märthesheimer,

Stars:

Barbara Sukowa, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Mario Adorf

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Barbara Sukowa	...	Lola
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Von Bohm
Mario Adorf	...	Schukert
Matthias Fuchs	...	Esslin
Helga Feddersen	...	Frau Hettich
Karin Baal	...	Lola's Mother
Ivan Desny	...	Wittich
Elisabeth Volkmann	...	Gigi
Hark Bohm	...	Volker
Karl-Heinz von Hassel	...	Timmerding (as Karl Heinz von Hassel)
Rosel Zech	...	Frau Schuckert
Sonja Neudorfer	...	Frau Fink
Christine Kaufmann	...	Susi
Y Sa Lo	...	Rosa
Günther Kaufmann	...	GI

Storyline

Ten years after the war, West Germany's market economy is booming. Into an unnamed city that's rife with corruption comes a new building commissioner, Herr von Bohm, committed to progress but also upright. He's smitten by Marie-Louise, a single mother who's his landlady's daughter. Von Bohm does not realize she is also Lola, a singer at a bordello and the mistress of Schuckert, a local builder whose profits depend on von Bohm's projects. When von Bohm discovers Marie-Louise's real vocation and looks closely at Schuckert's work, will this social satire play out as a remake of "Blue Angel," a visit of Chekhov to West Germany, or an update of Jean Renoir's "Rules of the Game"?

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Plot Keywords:

nipple slip | one word title | forced to strip | character name in title

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German English

Release Date:

4 August 1982 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lola, mia gynaika apo ti Germania

Filming Locations:

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

DEM 3,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rialto Film, Trio Film, Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The photograph above the mayor's desk shows downtown Houston, Texas as it looked in the 1960s. The film is set in the late 1950s.

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Quotes

Von Bohm: I want to buy your prostitute!
Schukert: With pleasure.
[Schukert grabs and gives Lola to Von Bohm]

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Connections

References The Blue Angel (1930)

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Soundtracks

"Unter fremden Sternen"
Performed by Freddy Quinn

User Reviews

Lola wants

This is for me the weakest of the three films making up the BRD Trilogy. I don't think Fassbinder could have had much interest in retelling the Professor Unrat story that Von Sternberg had done fifty years before with Dietrich. The garish Technicolor tones and the feverish acting don't disguise a lack of involvement on the director's part.

The actors do come out of this with distinction. Barbara Sukowa tears into her part with great gusto, if not much taste. Her rendition of The Fisherman of Capri is wonderfully energetic, both physically and vocally. Armin Mueller-Stahl is required mostly to be shy and calculating--that he comes out with the prize at the end is a surprise. Mario Adorf is one of my favorite actors and he doesn't disappoint here: vulgar, sly, subtle and conniving, he steals the show. Watch for Hark Bohm as the mayor, he's like a German Wally Cox, quite funny.