''Holy Lola'' is a 2004 French

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

that is directed by

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, s ...

. Tavernier said that the film was very, very moving, very exciting to do, and it made him fall in love with

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Plot

A French couple, Pierre and Geraldine want kids, but Geraldine is unable to conceive. After eleven years of infertility and a two-year vetting and administrative process they travel to Cambodia to adopt an orphan. They want to adopt before Christmas. When the couple reaches Cambodia, they book a hotel that has other French people that are also waiting to adopt. Their tempers flare when they have to deal with corruption, frequent rain, mosquitoes, many documents, and the uncertainty of whether or not they will be successful and if they are, what they will do if the baby has any serious diseases.

Cast

Jacques Gamblin Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. Life and career Jacques Gamblin is a French actor. He studied at the Centre dramatique de Caen (Caen Dramatic Arts Centre). Originally, Jacques Gamblin was not destined to act. As a professional technician ...

: Dr. Pierre Ceyssac * Isabelle Carré : Géraldine Ceyssac * Bruno Putzulu : Marco Folio *

Frédéric Pierrot Frédéric Pierrot (born 17 September 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in more than 120 films and television shows since 1986. He starred in the film '' Tell Me I'm Dreaming'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the ...

: Xavier *

Séverine Caneele Séverine Caneele (born 10 May 1974) is a Belgian film actress. She won the award for Best Actress at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival for the film ''L'humanité''. Filmography * ''L'humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. ...

: Patricia *

Rithy Panh Rithy Panh ( km, ប៉ាន់ រិទ្ធី; born April 18, 1964) is a Cambodian documentary film director and screenwriter. The French-schooled director's films focus on the aftermath of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime in Cambod ...

: Monsieur Khieu

Production

At first, Tavernier wanted to direct a different film. He wanted to make a film that was based on his daughter Tiffany's novel ''Dans la nuit aussi le ciel''. Tiffany didn't want him to direct it because she thought that it would be too difficult. Tiffany later ended up proposing ''Holy Lola'' to her father and wrote the screenplay.

Release

The film played at the City of Lights, City of Angels film festival. The DVD was released in 2006. The languages are German and French in Dolby Digital 5.1. The DVD has an

anamorphic Anamorphic format is the cinematography technique of shooting a widescreen picture on standard 35 mm film or other visual recording media with a non-widescreen native aspect ratio. It also refers to the projection format in which a distorted ...

picture. The special features on the DVD are the making of the film, an interview with the director, and the trailer.

Reception

Lisa Nesselson of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said that the semi-docu style incorporates plentiful local color, and film's jazzy score is a soothing counterpart to the frayed emotions depicted. Sheri Linden, of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'', said that Alain Choquart's ace camerawork captures the intimate drama with immediacy, and

Henri Texier Henri Texier (born 27 January 1945) is a French jazz double bassist. At the age of sixteen, fascinated by the double bass, Texier became a self-taught bassist, crediting Wilbur Ware most as an influence. He formed his first group with Georges ...

's propulsive music is a major contribution.

References

External links

* * http://www.holylola.de/ {{Bertrand Tavernier 2004 drama films 2004 films Films directed by Bertrand Tavernier Films set in Cambodia French drama films 2000s French-language films 2000s French films