Review of Lola Montès (1955) by Jack G — 27 Feb 2009
See the restored version if you can.
It's been compared to Citizen Kane, which is hard not to do since both have non-chronological plots and rely on stunning technical wizardry from filmmakers who know their shit in and out. But the difference is Lola Montes is not after some deep truth.... or maybe it is, just not quite in the same realm exactly (Montes's circus is literal, Kane's is, um, more seen after the fact). Sometimes it nears being almost TOO style over substance, since it's one of the most astonishing acts of daring-do pageantry, which is appropriate since it's about the circus. But it's got a lot of real heart and fire to it, with Lola's plight as something of a much further surreal and tragic dimension for the fact that, night after night, she has to relive every blunder whether her fault or not over and over.
It's like Sarte and Fellini had a love baby and then that baby picked up a widescreen mid 50s technicolor camera in the guise of a 19th century costume melodrama.
This review of Lola Montès (1955) was written by Jack G on 27 February 2009.
Lola Montès has generally received positive reviews.
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