Lola Vers La Mer, Laurent Micheli (dir.), 2019At the heart of this Belgian film is the basic human truth that not all conflicts can be resolved satisfactorily. We all know it. We all ignore it when it's our turn to compromise. We argue and bluster in hopes of winning the argument rather than being right.
Lola is an 18-year-old trans girl living in a shelter after her father kicked her out of the house. The opening credits roll over a montage of her skateboarding. Her impassive expression is an enigma. Is she intent on executing the moves? Is she contemplating something as she careens? Or is she dissociated from her emotions?
After learning her mother has died, she returns home for the wake and to confront her father. What kind of monster would deny a child the chance to say goodbye to their mother? Lola impulsively breaks into the house, steals the urn with her mother's ashes, and heaves a brick through her father's store window.
These actions set off what, with lesser performances, would be a formulaic onscreen road trip. Backstory is revealed; eccentric characters are encountered; lessons are learned. Here's one to grow on. The beauty of Lola is that it ticks all the boxes, but refuses easy answers.
Benoit Magimel as the father does much of the heavy lifting. His anger, grief, and frustration need to be real enough that we sympathize with Lola. But too much makes him the monster we initially believe him to be. I felt for this man.
Benoit Magimel as the father does much of the heavy lifting. His anger, grief, and frustration need to be real enough that we sympathize with Lola. But too much makes him the monster we initially believe him to be. I felt for this man.
Mya Bollaers as Lola walks - or skateboards - a similarly thin line. If she is a cartoon of sullen teenage moods, she loses all sympathy. But what besides anger is the proper expression when you've been denied family, home, and security because you're trans? The dancing in the kitchen sequence is powerful because we see how Lola has been robbed her of joy and spontaneity.
Music punctuates the emotions wonderfully while gently placing the audience in a trans-friendly space. Culture Club, Anohni, and the 4 Non Blondes song "What's Up?" (which, for me is forever tethered to Sense8) made me smile.
Lola acknowledges its road trip forebears. One pivotal sequence struck me as an homage to Planes, Trains and Automobiles. But there are no "Those aren't pillows" laughs here. Just a genuine portrait of vulnerability.
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