Lola is deserted by her husband and left without any visible means of support.

Lola is deserted by her husband and left without any visible means of support.

The year is 1960. Lola, A Spaniard (La Spagnola) - Lola Marceli - is abandoned by her Italian husband Ricardo, Simon Palamares for an Australian woman. He leaves her pregnant and without any visible means of support, except for her daughter Lucia - Alice Ansara. La Spagnola`s bitterness knows no bounds. She hounds Ricardo for money, mainly through Lucia, who idolises her father. Lucia really begins to hate her mother but then life improves with the arrival of her aunt, the irrepressible Manola - Lourdes Bartolome. This first feature of actor Steve Jacobs was written and produced by his partner, the actress Anna Maria Monticelli. Made, as so many Australian films are, on a minute budget, La Spagnola is elevated enormously by Jacob`s visual flair and by the exuberant performances of many of the cast but most notably by Lola Marceli and Lourdes Bartolome. In contrast Alice Ansara`s internal performance conveys the pain the adolescent Lucia is forced to bear. Much of the film was shot on location at the Caltex refinery at Kurnell and the bizarre setting of La Spagnola`s home sets the mood for the surreal elements in the film. There is a distinctly European flavour to this that distinguishes it from many Australian films.Comments from David Stratton.A refreshingly different look at `new Australians` in the early 60s, this is a charmer of a film with a striking central performance from Alice Ansara. The narrative is a little episodic, the action shifts back and forth between the mother and the daughter, and there`s an uncertainty in tone - but generally this is a refreshing film.