LOLA

(1961) A cigar-smoking man in a Stetson gazes out at the Nantes waterfront, then drives his high-finned American convertible past sailors out on a spree, as dreamer Marc Michel wanders into the cabaret where Anouk Aimée’s Lola is performing, dressed in an homage to Marlene Dietrich. And then the meetings, link-ups, and unknowing near-misses begin. Demy’s first feature, shot in b&w Scope by the great Raoul Coutard, evokes the most artlessly delicate of romantic atmospheres, while simultaneously orchestrating repeated patterns, interlocking relationships, and carefully choreographed outrageous coincidences... but wonder what happened to those two characters who went off to Cherbourg? Approx. 90 min. DCP. Restored in 2011 with the support of Fondation Gan and Fondation Technicolor.