Lola

Lola is a arresting indie film that combines the genres of time loop and found footage to create a dual-layered story. The film follows Thom and Mars, two inventors who have created LOLA, a device that can receive radio and TV signals from the future. However, they are unaware of the dire consequences that their actions will have on the world and themselves, as they share these broadcasts with others. Lola is a compelling alternative history drama that explores the impact of our choices and the moral responsibility that comes with them. The film does not rely on flashy effects or gimmicks, but rather on the emotional resonance of the characters and the intriguing plot twists. The film it most reminded me of was Chris Marker's masterpiece, La Jetée. With winning performances and use of found footage, Lola is a film that will make you think and feel, as you witness the ripple effects of time manipulation.

Mercifully, 'found footage' has not been overused by the major production houses. That allowed this gem to slip in to the main stream with its imaginative story line and cinematic style. It will become a cult classic, But writing that is facile and is almost harmful to my review. The characters other than the 2 sisters were deliberately underplayed, in my opinion. This allowed the emphasis to be on the story's development of what started as a fun invention (lots of wine and to hell with the consequences). The story line (and the terrific acting by the 2 sister- characters) twisted its way into a darker place. What I found most fascinating about the director is what a great story teller he is. All the while we were cheering on the successes of the British military heroes, who were fighting against a fascist enemy - while elements within the military were developing fascist traits of their own. I think that some of the critics did a disservice to the movie by over-emphasizing the relevant of the punk movement in the future, to the main story-line..

Lola: A cautionary tale about Time Travel; even if it just involved intercepting future Radio and TV broadcasts. Sisters Thomasina (Emma Appleton) and Martha (Stefanie Martini) have always been precocious, fiddling around with valves and electrical components since they were toddlers. Martha is the ideas person/inventor, Thomasina is the engineer who creates the devices. In October 1938 they build Lola, a chronovisor, they view and listen to future TV signals. They first see Bowie playing Space Oddity but go on to view rhe future Grand Nationals and other events to make money from betting. When World War 2 begins they intercept future news to warn people about bombing raids. Eventually tracked down by Military Intelligence they aid the War effort but when you interfere with the future yiu end up with unexpected consequences and no good deed goes unpunished.

The conceit is that is found footage, a film put together by Martha from newsreels, old home films and film shot by Martha on 16 mm stock. It is wonderful in black and white, blurry at times, blacking/whiting out. Changes made to actual 1930s/40s cinenews are seamless and transforms history. Bowie references provide many in jokes and cultural references, as the girls sing and dance in the future music. An Anti-Bowie. Reggie Watson (Shaun Boylan) delivers sinister tunes in a Bowiesque style. The sisters are delightfully eccentric, even keeping a horse indoors, they live in an old crumbling manor house where they basucally raised themselves as "wild childen". Great performances by Appleton and Martini with Rory Fleck Byrne as an Intelligemce officer who falls for Martha and Aaron Monaghan as his manipulative superior. Neil Hannon provides the original soundtrack with Watson's authoritarian songs. Directed and written by Andrew Legge. 8.5/10,

Odd little found footage film. These kinds of films tend to be a mixed bag, to put it mildly, but this one is a little bit inventive taking place in the past with two women who invent a mechanism that can see into the future and at first it's great fun. However, they then see a war coming and they interfere and it changes events as is usually the case when one plays around with time. While this is a little unusual and well acted, it's also extremely illogical, but you can have some fun with it if you don't take it too seriously. This is an ultra low budget film that has two very good female leads in Stefanie Martini & Emma Appleton who are both new to me. I also thought Rory Fleck Byrne. This is super short!

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Caught this at the 75th EIFF, very clever and inventive piece of micro-budget SF, presented almost as documentary using footage discovered in old movie reel tins in a deserted house in England, purporting to document a pair of eccentric sisters created Lola, a machine which can intercept. Broadcasts from the future. It starts as fun, but as the war comes to Britain, Lola's trajectory changes radically.

Some of the film was shot on period cameras, developed in a rougher way to give the impression of damaged old film reels, while other footage uses newsreels, edited to include characters (a la Forrest Gump) or events, while the story also brings into play the nature of personal responsibility and the potential consequences of interfering with history. In many ways it reminded me of Primer, now a cult film, which I first saw at the same film festival years ago.