Quick recap: After his mother emerges from a coma, a young man tries to keep her from learning that her beloved country of East Germany has collapsed, out of fear that the news will kill her.

Fun (?) fact: The story is loosely based on the last couple of years of VI Lenin’s life. Josef Stalin was afraid that excitement could caused serious health problems so he censored all media about the political issues of the time.

My thoughts: Good Bye Lenin was all over the place for me: I laughed, I cried, I drank Coke. Seriously though, the Coke advertising was ridiculous. Was there some Coca-Cola invasion I missed learning about in History? I know that Texas can be sort of hit and miss about important facts children should know, but you would think this would be the sort of thing I would’ve paid attention to.

All joking aside, watching Good Bye Lenin made me realize how little I knew about the fall of East Germany and how complicated the whole thing was. I know about the wall and I could probably name some important figures, but what I never thought about were the people. Not just the fact that families could finally be reunited but how hard it must have been to transition to a democracy after having little to no choice before. These kinds of governments are awful, of course, but they provide a sense of familiarity and calmness, whereas a Westernized country is overwhelming. It made sense why the son, Alex,would try to shield his mother from all of it because he was having a hard time on his own.

Alex’s love for his mother was to me the most important part of the film. There were several funny scenes about the lengths he took to keep his mother from knowing about the fall of her country- from paying boys to sing Socialist songs, to creating fake news reports so his mother could watch tv. It was all done out of a fierce protection, but it was also done as protection from his own feelings. His mother was everything to him, but she also represented safety. In turn, I think Alex’s mother knew the country had changed long before he told her (which he never actually did. He created a fake story about East Germany letting West Germans in because they hated capitalism) but she too loved him so much that she let him continue the charade. The ending, which I won’t give away, was also beautiful and really tied the whole film together.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: One Upon a Time in China

Quick recap: Lola is a cabaret dancer with guy trouble. There’s Frankie, an American sailor who is in love with her, Roland, a childhood friend, also in love with her, and Michel ,the guy who knocked her up and abandoned her and her son. It is Michel who Lola is madly in love with and spends her days hoping he will return.

Lola and Frankie

Fun (?) fact: Director Jacques Demy, who has a wonderfully French name, said that Lola is ‘a musical without music’.

Lola and Roland

My thoughts: For a movie named Lola, there isn’t actually a whole lot of Lola. Which is fine by me because I became very invested in the other characters while Lola herself bored me a bit. I get that she’s the connection between everyone and keeps the plot moving, but I would’ve been perfectly happy had the movie been something like Other Characters Who Aren’t Lola. I would watch the hell out of that.

That’s not to say I didn’t like Lola. The actress who played her, Anouk Aimée is beautiful and charming and really made the character come alive.It’s no wonder everyone was in love with her. My heart (and allegiance), however, belong to the character of Roland Cassard and his unrequited love. He was a mess most of the time- a charming guy who is so unhappy with his life that he enters a diamond smuggling ring (haven’t we all?) in order to get away from it all and do some traveling. After making the decision to participate, Roland runs into Lola and it’s the first time he smiles in the movie. I loved how much emotion was brought to the character of Roland, as he went from hopeful to head over heels to obsessive and finally to bitter as he accepted the fact that Lola didn’t love him back. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and it made me identify with him all too well.

Director Jaques Demy also made the film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which I loved, although I think I enjoyed Lola more. There were so many instances of characters having a connection to each other that it became a little silly, but on the other hand, it gives the movie an almost fairy tale sort of feel. And even though it ends badly for Emo Roland, Lola’s first love, Michel, comes back just as she is about to leave the city and everyone (except Emo Roland) lives happily ever after. It’s sappy but it works.

Final review: 4/5, although it’s almost a 5

Up next: Blonde Cobra