FILM · 1961 · FRANCE
Lola
- Directed by
- Jacques Demy
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Studio
- Rome-Paris Films, Carlo Ponti Production
19 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.
19 Interesting Facts About Lola
Interesting Facts (8)
- #001
Lola is Jacques Demy's first film and serves as a tribute to Max Ophüls.
- #002
Lola is included in "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die," edited by Steven Schneider.
- #003
Wong Kar-Wai stated that Lola had a major influence on his acclaimed film Chungking Express (1994).
- #004
In Jacques Demy's first English-language film, Model Shop (1969), Anouk Aimée plays a character named Lola.
- #005
Lola is part of spine number 714 in the Criterion Collection.
- #006
Lola opens with a Chinese proverb written in French, 'Pleure qui peut, rit qui veut,' which translates into English as 'Cry who can, laugh who wants.'.
- #007
Actress Bernadette Lafont said that because of her pregnancy she was forced to sign a three-film contract, including roles in Lola and a film by Jean-Luc Godard.
- #008
Filmmaker Christophe Honoré named Lola as his favorite film.
Production Story (11)
- #009
Jacques Demy initially conceived Lola as a color musical with a budget of 250 million French francs, but since he could only secure one-fifth of that budget, he dropped the musical element and decided to shoot in black and white.
- #010
This production, Jacques Demy's first film, is a tribute to the master director Max Ophüls.
- #011
It earned a place on the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die' list compiled by Steven Schneider.
- #012
Wong Kar-Wai has stated that this film had a great influence on his own masterpiece Chungking Express (1994).
- #013
In Model Shop (1969), the first film Jacques Demy shot in English, Anouk Aimée again plays the character of Lola.
- #014
The film is member number 714 of the prestigious Criterion Collection.
- #015
The film opens with a Chinese proverb written in French: 'Pleure qui peut, rit qui veut', meaning 'Let him who can weep, let him who will laugh'.
- #016
Jacques Demy initially conceived the film as a color musical with a budget of 250 million francs, but when he could secure only a fifth of that budget, he abandoned the musical idea and decided to shoot it in black and white.
- #017
When the original negative was destroyed in a fire, a new internegative was produced in 2000 under the supervision of Agnès Varda and cinematographer Raoul Coutard from a copy held at the British Film Institute; this formed the basis for the film's 2012 digital restoration.
- #018
Actress Bernadette Lafont said that, because she was pregnant at the time, she had to turn down a three-film contract that included this film and a Jean-Luc Godard film.
- #019
Director Christophe Honoré has named this film as his favorite.
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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