Germany in the autumn of 1957: Lola, a seductive cabaret singer-prostitute exults in her power as a temptress of men, but she wants out—she wants money, property, and love. Pitting a corrupt building contractor against the new straight-arrow building commissioner, Lola launches an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale. Shot in childlike candy colors, Fassbinder’s homage to Josef von Sternberg’s classic The Blue Angel stands as a satiric tribute to capitalism.
Cinematography
Candy colors that make corruption look deliciously edible.
Acting
Barbara Sukowa owns every frame like she paid for it.
Direction
Fassbinder at his most controlled while being totally unhinged.
Director
Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Fassbinder made this as the second in his BRD Trilogy, attacking West Germany's 'Economic Miracle' as built on prostitution—literal and metaphorical.
The Blue Angel homage isn't just aesthetic: both films destroy a respectable man through obsession, but Fassbinder lets his Lola survive and profit.
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