''Lola'' is a 1981 West German

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film directed by

Rainer Werner Fassbinder Rainer Werner Fassbinder (; 31 May 1945 – 10 June 1982), sometimes credited as R. W. Fassbinder, was a German filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the major figures and catalysts of the New German Cinema movement. Fassbinder's mai ...

, the third in his

BRD Trilogy The BRD Trilogy (german: BRD-Trilogie) consists of three films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder: ''The Marriage of Maria Braun'' (1979), ''Lola'' (1981) and ''Veronika Voss'' (1982). The films are connected in a thematic rather than in a narrati ...

, following ''

The Marriage of Maria Braun ''The Marriage of Maria Braun'' (german: Die Ehe der Maria Braun) is a 1978 West German drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder. The film stars Hanna Schygulla as Maria, whose marriage to the soldier Hermann remains unfulfilled due to Wor ...

'' (1978) and ''

Veronika Voss ''Veronika Voss'' (german: Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss, "The Longing of Veronika Voss") is a 1982 West German black-and-white drama film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and starring Rosel Zech, Hilmar Thate, and Cornelia Froboess. Loos ...

'' (1982). It is a loose adaptation of

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the Prussian Academy ...

's ''

Professor Unrat ''Professor Unrat, oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen'' (1905, trans. by Ernest Boyd as ''Small Town Tyrant''), which translates as "Professor Unclean", Herman G. Weinberg, 1967. p. 48 (footnote): "In German, the name "Rat" has the connotation of "couns ...

'' (1905), which had previously been adapted for

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

's ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Rober ...

'' (1930).

Plot

In 1957, in the town of

Coburg Coburg () is a town located on the Itz river in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Long part of one of the Thuringian states of the Wettin line, it joined Bavaria by popular vote only in 1920. Until the revolution of 1918, it ...

, as in most of

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...

, reconstruction is the watchword, and Coburg's élite all benefit: the mayor, the police chief, the bank president, the newspaper editor and above all, Schuckert, a property developer who owns the brothel the other men frequent. His favourite employee is its singer, Lola. This cosy arrangement is threatened by the arrival of the high-minded and cultured von Bohm, a refugee from

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

, as the new building commissioner. Divorced, he hires a woman with a young granddaughter as his housekeeper and devotes himself to his new job. One day, while he is out at work, his housekeeper shows her daughter his house. It is Lola, who decides she wants to know this interesting man and soon attracts his attention under her real name, Marie-Luise. Unaware of her night job or that Schuckert is her daughter's father, von Bohm proposes to her, but she warns him off. When he is finally taken to the brothel, he discovers the truth about her. In the meantime von Bohm has been collecting evidence of Coburg's widespread corruption, including building permits masterminded by Schuckert, and decides to put a stop to it, but nobody is interested. Unable to change the system, and still in love with Lola, he marries her with Schuckert's blessing. As a wedding gift, Schuckert gives the pair the deed to the brothel and, while von Bohm is taking a walk after the church ceremony, takes the bride to bed.

Cast

References

External links

* *
''The Candy-Colored Amorality of the Fifties: Lola Production History''
an essay by Michael Töteberg at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

1981 films 1981 drama films Adultery in films Films about prostitution in Germany Films about singers Films directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder Films produced by Horst Wendlandt Films set in 1957 Films set in 1958 Films set in Bavaria Films set in West Germany German drama films 1980s German-language films West German films 1980s German films {{1980s-Germany-film-stub