Not Coming to a Theater Near You
You know him?”
“Not socially. His name’s Jaws, he kills people.
I’ve found Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg a little (actually a lot) twee for my taste, so I was a little uncertain about this one, his debut and a non-musical prequel of sorts to that film. But Lola won me over from the first frame. Part of it is the leavening effect, I think, of the setting: though made in ‘61, it takes place in the immediate post-World War II period, in a France that’s both culturally rejuvenated and a little tired of its own native charm. Everyone in Lola reminds everyone of someone else – another love, in another country, at another time. From this vantage point, it’s hard to understand their nostalgia: the city of Nantes looks so luminous, and the atmosphere of the film itself is so warm and friendly, you can’t really imagine wanting to be anywhere else. But this paradox only strengthens the movie’s overall effect, which is much more melancholy than it would first appear. Beneath the surface fluffiness, there’s a deep confusion about the future of the French way of life, especially when that way of life is partially defined as an unfettered attraction to pleasure – and what’s more attractive or pleasurable than foreignness? Indeed, I’d say this xenophilia – expressed dramatically through the historically convenient trope of Franco-American relations, and cinematically through echoes of future Demy collaborator Gene Kelly – is the keynote of the film, what keeps it from being more than just charming. Thus, while the musical brothel sequences, in which a lingerie-clad Anouk Aimée and her cohort entertain a horde of jitterbugging G.I.s, are some of the most innocent images of sex tourism I’ve ever seen, they’re also some of the most truthful, in that they don’t let you forget the realities (economic, political, libidinal) driving the production of all this naughty fun. Which is not to say it isn’t still fun. In fact, that’s the problem.
by Evan Kindley | Source: Fox Lorber DVD
08 Jul 2008 11:07 PM | Submit Comment
