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

Referenced in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

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Soundtracks

L'Invitation à la Valse
Music by Carl Maria von Weber (as Weber)

User Reviews

Marvelous juxtaposition of harsh reality and lyricism

This film, which sets up many of the story lines and themes that are taken up in "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," is as charming and seductive as the latter, even in black and white and without the musical numbers. In fact, the black and white is quite spectacular--the camera loves Anouk Aimée in particular--and the film seems as if it is going to turn into a musical at almost every moment. While watching the film, one thrills to see the first statement of director Demy's beautiful and poignant cinematic universe. "Lola" is at once a splendid homage to the classic Hollywood film, and at the same time, through its expression of complex, mostly tragic themes, and quotidian--if not ugly--realities, something much more intriguing than a conventional film romance. Yet, such harshness is tempered, even transformed, by the dreamscape of cinema, both in what is depicted on-screen as well as through the characters' own processes of dreaming. You needn't resist the temptation to call it sublime.