Holy Lola is a 2004 French drama film that is directed by Bertrand Tavernier

Bertrand Tavernier

Bertrand Tavernier is a French director, screenwriter, actor, and producer.-Life and career:Tavernier was born in Lyon, the son of Geneviève and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, several years president of the French PEN club. Tavernier wanted to become a filmmaker since the age of thirteen...

. Tavernier said that the film is very, very moving, very exciting to do, and it made him fall in love with Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

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Plot

A French couple, Pierre and Geraldine want kids, but Geraldine is unable to conceive. After eleven years of infertility and a two year vetting and administrative process they travel to Cambodia to adopt an orphan. They want to adopt before Christmas. When the couple reaches Cambodia, they book a hotel that has other French people that are also waiting to adopt. Their tempers flare when they have to deal with corruption, frequent rain, mosquitoes, many documents, and the uncertainty of whether or not they will be successful and if they are, what they will do if the baby has any serious diseases.

Production

At first, Tavernier wanted to direct a different film. He wanted to make a film that was based on his daughter Tiffany's novel Dans la nuit aussi le ciel. Tiffany didn't want him to direct it because she thought that it would be too difficult. Tiffany later ended up proposing Holy Lola to her father and wrote the screenplay.

Release

The film played at the City of Lights, City of Angels film festival. The DVD was released in 2006. The languages are German and French in Dolby Digital 5.1. The DVD has an anamorphic picture. The special features on the DVD are the making of the film, an interview with the director, and the trailer.

Reception

Lisa Nesselson of Variety

Variety (magazine)

Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

said that the semi-docu style lensing incorporates plentiful local color, and film's jazzy score is a soothing counterpart to the frayed emotions depicted. Sheri Linden, of The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter

Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...

, said that Alain Choquart's ace camerawork captures the intimate drama with immediacy, and Henri Texier's propulsive music is a major contribution.