Lola (1961) - Jacques Demy

Set in the port city of Nantes, Jacques Demy's Lola tells the story of a cabaret singer who awaits the return of Michel, her long-absent lover and father of her child who went to America intent on becoming wealthy.  In Michel's absence, Lola is courted by Roland, her childhood friend, and Frankie, an American solider.  A film which could be described as an ensemble, Lola spends nearly equal time with its various characters, capturing their hopes, desires, and weaknesses in full effect.  Like all great ensemble films, Lola creates a world where its characters inhabit the same space, each interacting with one and other in both direct and in-direct ways.  There is no gimmick in this approach, with Demy using it to his advantage in capturing the day-to-day coincidences and near-misses that make up daily life.  I particularly found Roland to be a fascinating character, a man who wants more out of life, tired of his own mundane existence.  When he stumbles across Lola after years of not seeing her, he is given purpose, though his intentions of falling in love are short-sighted to say the least.  While he may not be the main character by traditional standards, I would argue Roland's character is the most important, personifying the most powerful theme of Lola, how there are both sides to the equation, when dealing with love, loss, and longing.  Through his character we see how quickly a man can become defeatist, and just how quickly and powerfully love can defeat such urges.  Though his character is blind to this himself, he encapsulates the greater optimism spread throughout Demy's Lola.  which suggests we never what life has in store for us. 

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