Marrakech International Film Festival
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- In Whatever Lola Wants, director Nabil Ayouch gives audiences what they may want -- a heady mix of Western and Oriental in this liberal dose of feet-tapping music and Egyptian belly dancing. Interestingly choreographed by Morocco and Tony Stevens and set to the lilting music of Krishna Levy, the dance numbers of American actress Laura Ramsey, who plays Lola, are sure crowd-pleasers. But beyond the lavishly mounted dance floors, Whatever Lola Wants fails to engage.
In this modern-day fairy tale, Lola, a mail delivery worker in New York, is passionate about dancing and bored with her job. Her best friend, Yussef (Achmed Akkabi), lifts her spirits by telling her about the legendary Egyptian belly dancer, Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), living a life of disgrace in Cairo after an extra-marital affair.
When Lola meets a dashing Egyptian millionaire, Zack (Assaad Bouab), she falls in love with him and has an affair so intense that she blows all her savings to follow him to Cairo. But Zack is terribly traditional, not one to marry someone dreaming of a career in dance. An angry and disappointed Lola turns to her first love. Determined to learn only from Ismahan -- who is reclusive and refuses to have anything to do with Lola, let alone teach her belly dancing -- the young American befriends the dancer's little girl and worms her way into the mother's heart. Lola becomes a sensation under Ismahan's guidance, taking Cairo by storm.
Whatever Lola Wants is a breezy Hollywood style movie that falls back on Ramsey's seductive figure and her sensuous belly dancing. Both Ramsey and Lebbos contribute significantly: the first as a bubbly dancer set to get whatever she wants and the second as a woman forced to hide from the world when she gives up dancing.
WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
The 7th Floor/Ali'n Prods./B.C. Films/Pathe Films/Transfilm
Credits:
Director: Nabil Ayouch
Writers: Nabil Ayouch, Nathalie Saugeon, Jane Hawksley
Producers: Allen Bain, Jake Eberts
Executive producer: Pierre Grunstein
Director of photography: Vincent Mathias
Production designer: Pierre-Francois Limbosch
Music: Krishna Levy
Costume designer: Tom Soluri, Julie Armand
Editor: Herve de Luze
Cast:
Lola: Laura Ramsey
Ismahan: Carmen Lebbos
Zack: Assaad Bouab
Yussef: Achmed Akkabi
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
MARRAKECH, Morocco -- In Whatever Lola Wants, director Nabil Ayouch gives audiences what they may want -- a heady mix of Western and Oriental in this liberal dose of feet-tapping music and Egyptian belly dancing. Interestingly choreographed by Morocco and Tony Stevens and set to the lilting music of Krishna Levy, the dance numbers of American actress Laura Ramsey, who plays Lola, are sure crowd-pleasers. But beyond the lavishly mounted dance floors, Whatever Lola Wants fails to engage.
In this modern-day fairy tale, Lola, a mail delivery worker in New York, is passionate about dancing and bored with her job. Her best friend, Yussef (Achmed Akkabi), lifts her spirits by telling her about the legendary Egyptian belly dancer, Ismahan (Carmen Lebbos), living a life of disgrace in Cairo after an extra-marital affair.
When Lola meets a dashing Egyptian millionaire, Zack (Assaad Bouab), she falls in love with him and has an affair so intense that she blows all her savings to follow him to Cairo. But Zack is terribly traditional, not one to marry someone dreaming of a career in dance. An angry and disappointed Lola turns to her first love. Determined to learn only from Ismahan -- who is reclusive and refuses to have anything to do with Lola, let alone teach her belly dancing -- the young American befriends the dancer's little girl and worms her way into the mother's heart. Lola becomes a sensation under Ismahan's guidance, taking Cairo by storm.
Whatever Lola Wants is a breezy Hollywood style movie that falls back on Ramsey's seductive figure and her sensuous belly dancing. Both Ramsey and Lebbos contribute significantly: the first as a bubbly dancer set to get whatever she wants and the second as a woman forced to hide from the world when she gives up dancing.
WHATEVER LOLA WANTS
The 7th Floor/Ali'n Prods./B.C. Films/Pathe Films/Transfilm
Credits:
Director: Nabil Ayouch
Writers: Nabil Ayouch, Nathalie Saugeon, Jane Hawksley
Producers: Allen Bain, Jake Eberts
Executive producer: Pierre Grunstein
Director of photography: Vincent Mathias
Production designer: Pierre-Francois Limbosch
Music: Krishna Levy
Costume designer: Tom Soluri, Julie Armand
Editor: Herve de Luze
Cast:
Lola: Laura Ramsey
Ismahan: Carmen Lebbos
Zack: Assaad Bouab
Yussef: Achmed Akkabi
Running time -- 110 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 1/29/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Agnes Merlet's biographical drama tells the story of the woman credited as history's first important female painter. A fascinating subject to be sure, but like many films of its kind, it doesn't quite work as either biography or drama.
Beginning promisingly but degenerating by the end into legal melodrama (much like Warners' upcoming period drama "Dangerous Beauty"), "Artemisia" registers as a disappointment. Re-cently showcased at the 15th Miami Film Festival, it is due for domestic theatrical release soon, courtesy of Miramax Zoe.
The fetching Valentina Cervi plays Artemisia, the talented daughter of well-known 17th century Italian painter Orazio (Michel Serrault, in a superb performance). Thrown out of the convent after her nude self-portraits are discovered, Artemisia comes under the tutelage of her father, who recognizes his offspring's talent. He encourages her to pursue her dream, despite the fact that women at the time were not allowed to study at the Academy and were certainly not permitted to sketch a male subject in the nude.
Artemisia falls under the artistic and sexual spells of arrogant, well-known painter Agostino Tassi (Miki Manojlovic), who be-comes both her tutor and lover. Tassi is a sexual libertine, but he sees no conflict between his debauched lifestyle and his commission to paint religious paintings for the Church. This appals the dignified Orazio, and when he discovers his daughter's affair, he becomes distraught and accuses Tassi of rape. The resulting trial forms the climax of the film.
"Artemisia" is most successful when depicting its subject's passion for art and the process by which she learns her craft. The milieu is re-created with lush detail and historical verisimilitude, and the beautiful photography, imbued with golden tones, gives many shots the feel of a Renaissance painting.
Still, it could have provided more information; the screenplay often proves frustratingly sketchy about the artistic and social climate of the period. And the love affair, which becomes the main focus, is familiar and not particularly interesting stuff, though Cervi does provide a compelling portrait of a young woman being indoctrinated into her sexual flowering. It's understandable that the filmmakers would want to concentrate on the dramatic trial, but the melodramatic conclusion is far less engrossing than the character herself.
ARTEMISIA
Miramax Zoe
Credits: Director: Agnes Merlet; Screenplay: Agnes Merlet, Christine Mille, Patrick Amos; Producer: Patrice Haddad; Executive producers: Lilian Saly, Patricia Allard, Daniel Wuhrmann; Director of photography: Benoit Delhomme; Editor: Guy Lecorne; Music: Krishna Levy. Cast: Artemisia: Valentina Cervi; Orazio: Michel Serrault; Agostino: Miki Manojlovic; Cosimo: Luca Zingaretti; Costanza: Emmannuelle Devos. No MPAA rating. Running time -- 102 minutes. Color/stereo.
Beginning promisingly but degenerating by the end into legal melodrama (much like Warners' upcoming period drama "Dangerous Beauty"), "Artemisia" registers as a disappointment. Re-cently showcased at the 15th Miami Film Festival, it is due for domestic theatrical release soon, courtesy of Miramax Zoe.
The fetching Valentina Cervi plays Artemisia, the talented daughter of well-known 17th century Italian painter Orazio (Michel Serrault, in a superb performance). Thrown out of the convent after her nude self-portraits are discovered, Artemisia comes under the tutelage of her father, who recognizes his offspring's talent. He encourages her to pursue her dream, despite the fact that women at the time were not allowed to study at the Academy and were certainly not permitted to sketch a male subject in the nude.
Artemisia falls under the artistic and sexual spells of arrogant, well-known painter Agostino Tassi (Miki Manojlovic), who be-comes both her tutor and lover. Tassi is a sexual libertine, but he sees no conflict between his debauched lifestyle and his commission to paint religious paintings for the Church. This appals the dignified Orazio, and when he discovers his daughter's affair, he becomes distraught and accuses Tassi of rape. The resulting trial forms the climax of the film.
"Artemisia" is most successful when depicting its subject's passion for art and the process by which she learns her craft. The milieu is re-created with lush detail and historical verisimilitude, and the beautiful photography, imbued with golden tones, gives many shots the feel of a Renaissance painting.
Still, it could have provided more information; the screenplay often proves frustratingly sketchy about the artistic and social climate of the period. And the love affair, which becomes the main focus, is familiar and not particularly interesting stuff, though Cervi does provide a compelling portrait of a young woman being indoctrinated into her sexual flowering. It's understandable that the filmmakers would want to concentrate on the dramatic trial, but the melodramatic conclusion is far less engrossing than the character herself.
ARTEMISIA
Miramax Zoe
Credits: Director: Agnes Merlet; Screenplay: Agnes Merlet, Christine Mille, Patrick Amos; Producer: Patrice Haddad; Executive producers: Lilian Saly, Patricia Allard, Daniel Wuhrmann; Director of photography: Benoit Delhomme; Editor: Guy Lecorne; Music: Krishna Levy. Cast: Artemisia: Valentina Cervi; Orazio: Michel Serrault; Agostino: Miki Manojlovic; Cosimo: Luca Zingaretti; Costanza: Emmannuelle Devos. No MPAA rating. Running time -- 102 minutes. Color/stereo.
- 2/17/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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