Simon Richter Publishes Book on the Lola Film

The title is Women, Pleasure, Film, but the subtitle says it all: What Lolas Want. How many cinematic Lolas are there? At least 35 on his count.The title is Women, Pleasure, Film, but the subtitle says it all: What Lolas Want. How many cinematic Lolas are there? At least 35 on his count. A good third of of them are German (including Marlene Dietrich in The Blue Angel and Franka Potente in Run Lola Run), others are European and American. But there are also South and Latin American Lolas, Asian Lolas, transgender Lolas, and many more. Richter argues that the Lola film has been a place where directors and actresses and actors have cultivated a fantasy that acknowledges woman’s claim to pleasure without punitive response and without turning her into a vamp or femme fatale. Elisabeth Bronfen of the University of Zurich writes: "Richter offers an original approach to thematic film criticism. The range of films chosen for the discussion is impressive and the interconnections and associations offered go beyond any expected comparative reading to uncover astonishing relationships."

Click here for an article about Richter's book in Frontiers.

Click here to read a sample of the book on Amazon.