Lola Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		2.5

Lola Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 6, 2014

Jacques Demy's "Lola" (1961) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the new restoration of the film; excerpts from two video interviews with Anouk Aimee conducted by Agnes Varda; restoration demonstration; Jacques Demy's early short films "Les Horizons Morts" (1951), "Le sabotier du Val de Loire" (1956), "Ars" (1959), and "La Luxure" (1962); and more. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Lola

Note: Lola is part of Criterion's upcoming The Essential Jacques Demy Blu-ray box set.

The men and women in this film often smile, but they are all lonely. They all spend time dreaming of being loved by someone special. If fate gives them a chance, they all admit that they wouldn’t hesitate leaving everything behind to have the type of life they always wanted.

Lola (Anouk Aimee, Un homme et une femme, La Dolce Vita) is a beautiful cabaret dancer and the mother of a seven-year-old boy named Yvon. She lives alone but most of the time young men share her bed. Lately, she has been seeing Frankie (Alan Scott, Vertigo for a Killer), a handsome American sailor who has been giving her whiskey and cigarettes in exchange for her kisses. Lola knows that it is only a matter of time before Frankie goes back to Chicago, but does not mind being the girl he wants her to be. He reminds her of Michel (Jacques Harden, Gervaise), the only man she truly loved but could not keep.

Roland (Marc Michel, Le Trou, La ragazza di Bube) has recently returned home after spending some time on the road. But he has just lost his dead-end job and is now once again considering leaving Nantes. When a shady pharmacist offers him a job which will take him to Johannesburg, South Africa, he immediately accepts. Then, in a bookstore Roland meets a young girl who reminds him of the only woman he ever loved - Lola. Later on, Roland accidentally meets Lola, looking as beautiful as he remembers her. They arrange to meet and Roland slowly begins to realize that leaving Nantes again may not have been such a good idea.

Meanwhile, the girl from the bookstore and Frankie meet. They spend some time together and talk about their lives. She is learning English, he is learning that true love isn’t easy to find. Before they part ways, both realize, in their own ways, that under different circumstances they could have been happy together.

Jacques Demy’s debut feature film is like a giant puzzle in which fates are closely intertwined. Occasionally, the different characters in the film sense that they are following predetermined paths, but they can’t see the big picture. We can, and as the film progresses we realize that the cycles they have roles in are virtually identical.

The center piece in the puzzle is the beautiful Lola, whose heart belongs to a man who left her years ago. Lola is seen through the eyes of three different characters, each finding a different kind of beauty in her. Roland, the dreamer, is Demy, wanting more out of life, ready to travel the world but feeling that he belongs in Nantes.

Lola has the pure energy the great Nouvelle Vague films have. Visually, however, it is closer to Vincente Minnelli’s classic musicals. It is not as well polished but it overflows with the same type of optimism that is present in Minnelli’s best works. It was beautifully lensed by the great cinematographer Raoul Coutard ( Jean-Luc Godard's Vivre Sa Vie, François Truffaut's Jules et Jim).

Because the film’s budget was so small, Demy was forced to shoot it without sound (including the famous song by Anouk Aimee). Demy hoped that the soundtrack would be composed by Quincy Jones, but had to settle for a score by a little known at the time French composer named Michel Legrand (The Swimming Pool, The Thomas Crown Affair).

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Demy's Lola arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the book provided with this release:

"Approved by Mathieu Demy, this new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a Scanity film scanner from two 35mm internegatives at Technicolor Los Angeles, where the film was also restored; the original negative was lost in a fire, and these internegatives are the only remaining preprint elements in existence. This 2012 restoration was undertaken by Cine-Tamaris, the Technicolor Foundation for Cinema Heritage, and the Groupama Gen Foundation for Cinema. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the optical track of a low-contrast print.

Transfer supervisors: Tom Burton, Danielle Cantwell.
Image restoration supervisor: Danny Albano.
Colorist: Jason Fabbro/Technicolor Los Angeles."

As clarified above, the release uses as a foundation the same restoration of Lola that was first introduced by Arte Video in France in 2012. You can see our review of Arte Video's release of Lola here.

Because the film's original negative no longer exists, the restorers had to work with surviving elements that were not in perfect condition. As a result, a number of important corrections were made while the film was restored and reconstructed -- contrast was rebalanced, torn frames were repaired and realigned, and in some cases non-existing details were digitally recreated by borrowing existing details from other parts of the film. However, it appears that at some point -- either during or after the restoration was completed -- specific digital corrections were also performed to make the film look smoother/better balanced. While these corrections were likely beneficial in some areas, it is easy to see that in other areas they destabilized the image. For example, because of specific filtering corrections some darker areas of the film almost completely collapse. There are areas of the film where contrast stability is also affected. (Cinematographer Raoul Coutard's use of light and shadow is very unique and there are sequences where contrast natively fluctuates quite a lot and in the process affects shadow definition, but these image fluctuations have nothing to do with the effects of the filtering corrections that are visible throughout the film). As a result, more often than not the film looks quite flat (see screencaptures #7 and 17). This being said, overall image stability is very good. Indeed, there are no serious transition issues and large cuts, damage marks, debris, warps, and stains have been removed as best as possible. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French LPCM 1.0. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is very good. While dynamic intensity is limited -- which should not be surprising considering the fact that the film's original sound design imitates that of the Nouvelle Vague films -- clarity and stability are very good. Michel Legrand's music is also well balanced with the dialog -- there are no sudden spikes or drops in dynamic activity. Lastly, there are no pops, cracks, hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for the 2012 restoration of Lola. With short comments by Tom Burton (Technical Restoration Services) and Agnes Varda. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (2 min, 1080p).

• Anouk Aimee - presented here are excerpts from two video interviews with Anouk Aimee conducted by Agnes Varda, one from 1995 and another from 2012. The French actress recalls how she was approached to play Lola and explains what makes her character unique. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Lola's Song - in this video interview from 2008, Agnes Varda recalls how she wrote Lola's song, C'est moi, c'est Lola. Also included are clips from archival interviews with Michel Legrand and Anouk Aimee. In French, with optional English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Restoration Demonstration - this featurette focuses on the recent restoration (2012) of Lola. Included with it are visual comparisons and excellent comments by Agnes Varda, Mathieu Demy, and Tom Burton addressing the restoration and reconstruction of the film. In English and French, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (11 min, 1080p).

• Les Horizons Morts (1951) - presented here is Jacques Demy's first short film about a young man who can't stop thinking about a girl that has left him. The young man is played by Jacques Demy. Music only. (9 min, 1080i).

• Le sabotier du Val de Loire (1956) - Jacques Demy's second short film is about an elderly clog maker in the Loire Valley. The film is narrated by Georges Rouquier. In French, with optional English subtitles. (24 min, 1080i).

• Ars (1959) - a short film by Jacques Demy about a priest who lived a simple life in the village of Ars. In French, with optional English subtitles. (17 min, 1080i).

• La Luxure (1962) - Jacques Demy directed this short film in 1962 for the omnibus The Seven Deadly Sins (which also featured shorts by Eugène Ionesco, Philippe de Broca, Claude Chabrol, Sylvain Dhomme, Max Douy, Jean-Luc Godard, Édouard Molinaro, and Roger Vadim). In it two friends discuss their definitions of lechery. With Jean-Louis Trintignant, Laurent Terzieff, Micheline Presle, and Jean Dessailly. Music by Michel Legrand. In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).

Lola Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The restoration of Jacques Demy's first feature film is rather underwhelming. The people that worked on this project were clearly aware that they were facing some very unusual challenges -- the original negative for Lola no longer exists -- but I don't believe that they made all the right decisions while restoring and reconstructing the film. Criterion's upcoming release has the majority of the supplemental features from Arte Video's release of Lola, as well as four early short films directed by Jacques Demy that are not included on the French release.