England before World War II: two inventors develop a time machine. LOLA receives radio waves from the future, Bowie and Dylan songs as well as news about Hitler and the Nazis. As “the Angels of Portobello“, the very confident and enterprising sisters begin to warn the British population about the German air raids. With LOLA, British director Andrew Legge gives the classic mental game of “time travel against the Nazis“ a media theory twist. Heroines Thom and Mars remain in the same physical place – but the video messages from the future impact them so deeply that they seem like time travelers. Conversely, the film, which pretends to consist of “archival materials,“ references the aesthetic of the silent and black and white films, but its modern acting and editing makes it seem timeless as well. The two protagonists are multi-layered and unconventional, yet they are observed from the male gaze. How many women in real life have bathed with their sisters and playfully talked about who finds the new love interest cuter? Their relationship and their conflicts are the center of the plot and yet it could have still taken up more space.

LOLA is an interesting experiment for film buffs as well as history fans which unfortunately falls short when it comes to the historical facts. The decidedly British perspective lets you think that the Second World War was a normal war that you could win. While the film cheerfully celebrates an approaching British victory, it doesn't even mention the Holocaust that was occurring at the same time - probably because it couldn't possibly do the subject justice.

Eva Szulkowski

Translation: Elinor Lewy