Printed 2015

Paper Size: 40 x 30 cm
Edition of 20

 
Each photograph is signed and numbered by the artist.

 
Anouk Aimee, in the title role of Lola, in Nantes (Lola, dir. Jacques Demy, 1961).

Described by Demy as a 'musical without music', the film centres around cabaret singer and single mother Lola (Aimee). Despite the film not being a commercial success, it established actress Anouk Aimée as an iconic performer of the French New Wave. Taking place in the costal French city of Nantes, a young man Roland (Marc Michel) is living unremarkably until a chance encounter with Lola leads to him vying for her affection, and they become lovers. However, Lola is preoccupied with her former lover Michel, who abandoned her and her son years earlier.

In the end, against all odds, Michel returns to Nantes for Lola, apparently very successful and hoping to marry her, just as she is leaving for another job in Marseille and Roland is also leaving town. Their paths do not cross.

Cinematographer for A bout de souffle (Breathless), Raoul Coutard's rich black and white images underscore the narrative of the importance of luck and chance in love. The film was restored and re-released by Demy's widow, French filmmaker Agnes Varda. As Varda explains, Demy's first feature became a legendary film in its own right:

Lola is one of those films, like Rules of the Game, that had no commercial success, but gained a marvellous reputation.' (Varda, as quoted in 'A History of the French New Wave Cinema', Rupert Neupert, 2002)