Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Kayden This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

MartinHafer Whether or not you enjoy "Lola", the disc from Criterion includes a surprisingly large number of extras--including several of Demy's early short films.The story is named for the main character, Lola (Anouk Aimée) who is a cabaret dancer who is either very promiscuous or a prostitute--you really don't know whether or not she charges for her services or is just incredibly friendly! She is, at the same time, hoping a lover from seven years ago returns to claim her and her child fathered by him. At the same time, several others in the film are also looking for love...such as an old friend of Lola's who is infatuated with her, an older lady who wants to capture this man for herself and her very, very stupid daughter who just turned 14 and is looking for love in all the wrong places.The film is technically well made but is very little like his later masterpiece, "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg". It's competently made and mildly interesting but for me that was really all there was to it.

Michael Neumann Jacques Demy's effervescent romance is one of the best and most enduring examples of the stylistic explosion since called the French New Wave, but compared to Resnais' often-tortured exposition and Godard's turgid socio-political cul-de-sacs this playful look at the mysteries of first love is alive with an almost irresistible vitality. Demy pursues with tongue-in-cheek determination the idea that life can be a series of happy accidents, weaving several interlocked plot threads into a delicate web of chance and coincidence to illustrate the casual symmetry of life and love. At the heart of the film is a young cabaret dancer waiting (against reason) for her American sailor to return, whose sometimes sad, sometimes comic story is oddly echoed in the lives of everyone around her. It's as if the world were an endless progression of dancers and sailors, destined to mingle and mix in a never-ending attempt to rekindle that first, unforgettable spark of passion.

kim33-1 I have recently watched trois couleurs:Rouge and realized that what they're trying to do is similar to Lola. both the movies have reaccuring circumstances such as in trois couleurs, there is an old judge and he talks of his heartbreak. then simultaneously there is a young judge and we get to see his girlfriend cheating on him. In Lola, we see young Cecile and older Cecile, Michel and Franky. maybe they're trying to say life repeats itself? I enjoyed it thoroughly. She is very charming. here are my favorite quotes:"we're alone and we stay alone but what counts is to want something no matter what the cost is.""bit of happiness in simply in wanitng to be happy."

jpsrock The movie's main characters are Lola and Roland. Lola is a single mother waiting for the return of her lover. Roland is waiting for meaning to come into his life. Roland falls for Lola but Lola remains true to her love.The construction of the movie is solid. It's established early that Lola's lover will return. In addition, there's a meaningful side story involving a young woman and her mother. The young woman is a young Lola & indeed gets involved with the same American sailor who Lola is spending time with. These characters unify the movie and serve as a foundation for the story.The movie reminded me of Eric Rohmer's Tale of Winter. In that movie the heroine also awaits the return of her lover while raising their child. The storyline in Lola in some sense is simpler and yet there's more levels that exist - the characters of Roland and the "other" Lola and her mother are truly interesting. In Tale of Winter, the men in her life (Loic and Maxence) are more one-dimensional. In Tale of Winter, the whole POV of the movie centers around the main character. I liked the shifting focus between Roland and Lola as the story was told.Other comments: * The ambience and photography was lovely and Anouk Aimee was beautiful and charming. * The Michel Legrand music is beautiful - he even uses a lovely theme which will return in Umbrellas of Cherbourg.