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(More customer reviews)Lola
dir Maria Novaro, Mexico 1989 (official release 7 Feb 1991)
An imperfect woman 5*
This excellent film is sandwiched between two magical cinematic moments. It opens, during credits, with the simplest of low budget indie scenes, a young girl playing rock star to a catchy pop tune, entering from behind cheap living room curtains, in a flashlight spot, with a toy guitar. After a while she is replaced by a young woman in a red blouse, with a toy mandolin, equally as abandoned to the game. I was immediately captivated, with possibility as well as the moment -- could this even be Lola at two stages of her life, I wondered?
And it closes, as final credits roll, with a very simple, moving scene, Lola and Ana walking and playing on the beach to the the plaintive yet bouncy "Si tu te va" ("If you should leave"). In several viewings, this finale never fails to give me goosebumps.
Between these two bookends, in one sense not much happens, but in another sense everything, life itself, happens. The film centers around Lola, played by Leticia Huijara in a pitch perfect performance. Lola loves her daughter Ana (aka "Little Mouse", Alejandra Vargas) dearly, but her parenting skills, beyond simply pleasing Ana, are not the greatest. It's more as if she wants to be a friend or big sister than the sometimes mean mommy. She also has anger control issues, brought on by the frustrations of young, quasi-single motherhood, stupid men, or the economic and social uncertainty following the disastrous 1985 earthquake. On seemingly minor provocation, she lashes out at Ana's father Omar, or even (indirectly) at Ana. Her entire life seems somewhat slapdash.
The men in Lola's life are Omar, Ana's father and a minor rock star, complete with groupies; the young and affable Duende, openly in love with Lola in a wistful, puppy dog way; and the the strutting, macho Mario, trying to force himself on her at every occasion. Lola's mother makes a few appearances. Even Mexico City itself is a character, still showing signs of damage from the quake, with graffiti "Mexico figue en pie" (Mexico is still standing).
In large part, the film is of the "slice of life" sort. Little incidents add to our understanding of the relationships or situations and environs Lola and Ana find themselves in, or exposit Lola's character. Lola earns her living selling seconds from a sweatshop in an unlicensed street market, which operates under constant threat from "the van," having to pack up and vanish on a moment's notice. She has Ana enrolled in school, and after being scolded by the teacher does try to enforce homework rules, at least for a while.
The story arc, such as it is [SPOILERS THIS PARAGRAPH], has Ana's father Omar first going on the road with his band, then they get a house-band job in Los Angeles, perhaps for a year. Omar promises to send for them, and one might wonder what one expects when choosing a rock star for a partner, but Lola explodes and then goes into a deep funk. So deep that she leaves Ana with her mother, mopes around a bit more, then takes off with Duende and a couple from the market for few days at the beach. Even more depressed, Lola sees something that clears her head, and returns to the city to reclaim Ana.
Filmmaker Novaro exhibits a firm hand for a novice outing. She is not afraid to let a scene, a shot, linger ... but only as long as needed, avoiding the opposite beginner's trap of static scenes carried on long past any useful exposition or interest. What seems at first an isolated bit of local color, with a pan of the camera turns into plot. Many of the characters could have been cut-out stereotypes (think the macho Mario) if less carefully handled.
There is an interesting and useful "entrevistas" feature, interviews with Novaro, Huijara and Vargas (now a teen), with insights into both the making of the film and its intent. The music is interesting, largely contemporary (Mexican) pop and rock, one rather odd bit of musical or light opera that Ana and Omar watch on TV, and a bit of classical.
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