Lola Pater, written and directed by Nadir Mokneche - 8 out of 10

Lola Pater, written and directed by Nadir Mokneche
8 out of 10


Even if the writer-director of this film has a name that does not give hope, at least in English, Lola Pater is a very interesting proposition.

When his mother dies, Zino Chekib, attends the funeral and then embarks on the journey of finding his remaining parent...his father, he thinks.
He has an address from the notary, the GPS which we hear and must be on the phone- for there no place for a big dashboard on a motorcycle, is there? - gives the known directions, take left four kilometers down the road...

And he arrives at a house where an imposing woman - the towering, experienced Fanny Ardant has the leading role here, that of Lola - is instructing, teaching a group of women the secrets of dancing, oriental style to be more precise, using Arabic music.
A man that we would later learn is gay, meets the stranger who tells him he is looking for Farid Chekib.

This has an evidently strong impact on the woman who is the leader of the operation no doubt, who comes to greet the young man.
She says that there must be a mistake, Farid Chekib is not there, does not live at the address, even thoughZino insists it was given by an official who has had dealings with him.

Eventually, he mentions that his mother has died and therefore he has to meet his remaining parent to settle the testament, official papers.
Lola is very emotional, once the man is gone and she starts crying, her friend and probably an employee, walks out of the house to bring another woman that turns out to be the heroine's lover.
The protagonist states that she has just learned that her wife is dead and we understand almost all that has happened.

There have been a number of films on the subject, with variations in the plot, from Normal with the excellent Tom Wilkinson, to Transamerica, Transparent and another acclaimed work with ChristopherPlummer and Ewan McGregor.
This is different in that the son has no idea about how the meeting with his father would be, this is true, but even the wildest imagination could not envisage what he would find.

There is a moment when he looks at some photos and he covers the lower part of the faces and he might just have a hint, a premonition, but it would take a long time and something of a struggle to come to terms with the reality.
After sending the son away, the father-who is now a new mother? - changes his mind or in fact hers, for she is a woman now, and travels to the city to engage with the Zino.

From the small hotel where she would stay, she calls his business, which is to tune pianos and other musical instruments, and pretends that she wants him to come to take care of the instrument at the address of the motel.
When he comes, the concierge knows nothing, the parent is hiding, unable to face the son, until they finally talk, but only for a few moments.

Zino has been offended by the initial rejection, he still thinks this could be the woman his father has married or is the lover of and she tries to keep him away from his parent.
It would take quite some time to one along this game, the awkward rapprochement between the former father, who is now a woman and the confused, often hostile young man.

When he is told the truth, he rejects it and this strange person who has abandoned his mother and the child, his son to become someone else, indeed so different and hard to accept.
When he looks at the old videos, where his young father was dancing, being so close to his wife and son, Zino is already tender, more pliable and warm towards Lola.

The mutation, even a paradigm shift takes place after reading the loving, touching, gentle, kind, truthful letters in which the man states that he would jump to his death if he does not change his condition.
Ultimately, he is a woman in the body of a man - there is a good joke when Lola says that she has made an improvement on the work of ...she points a finger towards Allah, the sky where he allegedly resides.

Farid asks for forgiveness and to see his son from a distance, if his mother would allow it.

Lola Pater is a very good film.