46. LA CAPTIVE, dir. CHANTAL AKERMAN, 2000
lola. i loved when she sang "c'est moi, c'est lola," and visually the film was great to look at... perhaps it's unfortunate that my viewing of lola coincided with the mackenzie phillips announcement of (non-consensual) consensual sex with her father john phillips (whose album was, until this point, nowhere near underplayed in our home), because watching the subtly sexual dynamics between cecile the young girl and the adult men of the film was difficult. at the same time, i loved the symbolism here: cecile petite was clearly represenative of cecile grande a.k.a. 'lola' -- the men could get close to the naive/young/carefree child but not touch her, where cecile/lola the grown woman was touchable but did not allow anyone to become close. although juliet said she abandoned an attempt at choosing films in keeping with the feeling of the fallen idol, she couldn't have known before seeing lola that it would be a pretty great in-keeping-with choice. both films were so ripe with quite overt symbolism, which can often get hokey but in both films for me worked quite well --
i realize i never wrote about the fallen idol, which i loved. like juliet i was surprised by how much i enjoyed the film, i was not expecting the perfect marrying of suspense and humor and moral bottom line. the young actor playing phil was mesmerizing, i could watch him say "baines!" all day. the film falls in line with certain older films i've seen over the years that manage to use almost over-the-top visual symbols (in this: the befriending of the snake, various shots of the main characters positioned behind or by bars of some sort -- cages at the zoo, staircases, etc.) to make a point again and again, without ever becoming overly corny -- somehow it adds greatly to the visual appeal of the film without one's eyes rolling forever back in one's head.
the coupling of lola and the fallen idol turned out to be surprisingly right on the money.
i have yet to see part 2 of the double feature: when i put the film in my dvd player on wednesday night it would not move past the f.b.i. warning screen and jammed the dvd player until jarek swooped in hours later to miraculously remove it. i have yet to attempt it again for fear of re-jam, but am going to try once more tonight before sending it back for another. hope to watch in the next few days!
looking forward to la captive. i saw a chantal akerman short film in high school that blew me away and has been eluding me on dvd ever since. it had to do with two girls losing their virginity, i thought it was "je tu il elle," but i think i am wrong on that... any ideas?
oh, and 'jeanne dielman...' (1976) was one of the best film-going experiences i've had, certainly one of my most favorite films ever.
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we're working backwords of each other! i saw LA BAIE DES ANGES but have yet to finish LOLA. i will say this, though--it has been so rewarding to see more jacques demy. really enjoyed LA BAIE, and LOLA is even more thrilling to me (the half i have seen)...though in fairness, as far as LA BAIE goes, jeanne moreau is one of those people who i tend to enjoy in anything.
it's fun to see the thread between LOLA and LES PARAPLUIES DE CHERBOURG...MODEL SHOP is in our queue, a later demy and the only film he made in the states--in LOS ANGELES, no less!
very excited for your pick. i've only ever seen JEANNE DIELMAN, but we saw it under the best circumstances...it was a singular film experience for me. i relish the opportunity to learn more about her work. and as far as the film you saw in the past, i wish i knew...
PS: heard about the phillips drama, though feel unplugged from it all...strange stuff. excited to finish LOLA and talk more about the connections.
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