While trying to raise money to prevent his car from being repossessed, George is attracted to Lola, a Frenchwoman who works in a "model shop", an establishment that rents out beautiful pin-up models to photographers. George spends his last twelve dollars to photograph Lola, and discovers that she is as unhappy as he.
Direction
Demy's French eye transforms strip malls into poetry.
Cinematography
Magic hour worship that makes despair gorgeous.
Score
Sagittarius by the Monkees — perfect accidental anthem.
Director
Jacques Demy
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Demy shot this immediately after The Young Girls of Rochefort, using the same Anouk Aimée character from Lola (1961) — his first color film in America.
The 'model shop' was a real LA phenomenon: photographers rented nude models by the hour in backroom studios. Demy discovered it through production designer Alexander Golitzen.
US
