Lola
Strange, sad thing about 1981's LOLA. The second in writer/director Werner Rainer Fassbinder's BRD trilogy lacks the very thing that makes its predecessor, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN , and its follow-up, VERONIKA VOSS so immediate - deep identification with the titular heroine. All three films are set in post WW2 Germany, when the social market economy was beginning to bloom, or fester, depending on your point of view. Each successive film shows the erosion of female empowerment, beginning with Mrs. Braun's ascension and fall, and climaxing with the terrible fate of Ms. Voss. We got to know them well, and the stories were driven by them. Lola (Barbara Sukowa) is an enterprising singer/lady of the evening who is the star of the local brothel, owned by a property developer/vulgarian called Schuckert (Mario Adorf). Their relationship is complicated and deep, you might say. Schuckert also benefits from the rampant corruption amon...
