Lola (1961)

A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.

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

Roland Cassard is a young man with no job and seemingly no prospects. By chance, he runs into his former girlfriend Cecile, who works as a dancer at a cabaret under the stage name Lola. She is now a single mom and works hard to provide her young son with all of the necessities of life. Lola still hopes that her son's father Michel, the true love of her life, will someday return to them. Seeing Lola again confirms to Roland that he's still in love with her, but she doesn't return his feelings. He has also met Madame Desnoyer and her 14-year-old daughter, also called Cecile. Madame Desnoyer, a widow, is quite taken with Roland but he has little interest in her. Roland sees no future if he stays in France.

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Plot Keywords:

cabaret | dancer | widow | single mother | sailor | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

14 October 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Лола

Filming Locations:

La Baule, Loire-Atlantique, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rome Paris Films

Technical Specs

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 Ophüls.

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Connections

Featured in Jacquot de Nantes (1991)

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Soundtracks

Concerto pour flûte en ré majeur
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as Mozart)

User Reviews

Love it

The modern mainstream movie-goer will probably react negatively toward this wonderful little film, an early Demy masterpiece. Meetings and love, what I like most in life in this moment, are the most wonderful aspects of human life. It takes longer for some people to realize this. Maybe if they fall in love they will understand what surely brings happiness, and it is not about things or stuff. Simple meetings between people. Human interaction. I miss nothing in this film, it has the elements I want from a movie. The score is wonderful; Mozart, Legrande (who uses the same tune in Parapluies de Cherbourg) and especially Beethoven's 7th symphony that is well fit in the finale. Maybe what I like so much about movies is the combination of photo and music. And the photo by Raoul Coutard (my favorite cinematographer) is amazing. The beautiful and detailed outdoor scenes, the light, the compositions.

The little affair between the American sailor and the 14-year old French girl would probably be classed as soft pedophilia today, btw.

5/5