Description
BERLIN FILM FESTIVAL WINNER DIRECT FROM ITS THEATRICAL RELEASE. A sixteen-year-old boy flees his repressive, traditional Turkish family to embark on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery in the salacious underworld of contemporary Berlin. Produced by Good Machine (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Ice Storm, Trick, Happiness). The film features German Diva Inge Keller (Aimie and Jaguar). The DVD features: a photo gallery, bios and the theatrical trailer.
Customer Reviews:
A Dazzling Kaleidoscopic Theme and Variations .......2005-12-17
Lola + Bilidikid (Lola and Billy the Kid) written and directed by the dynamic E. Kutlug Ataman is an immensely interesting view of the lives of Turks in Berlin. The many characters introduced at a seemingly random fashion all are woven in the loom of Ataman, becoming one connected tapestry of ethnic clashes, humor, drama, and intensely moving views of family and love. From the quiet moments at the beginning to the unexpected ending this film dazzles with color, music, highly developed character development by some fine actors, and edge of the seat tension.
The Turkish subculture in Berlin is the hotbed for trouble between Turks and Germans. Add to this setting the fact that the film deals with the taboos of gay life, transgender and transvestite men, and the concomitant stresses of families who deal with these issues on a daily basis and the result is a film full of richly detailed stories.
Lola (Gandi Mukli), a Turkish drag queen has a lover Billy the Kid (Erdal Yildiz), a macho, closeted Turk who views his role as the Man and Lola as the woman and encourages Lola to have gender altering surgery so they can live as husband and wife back in Turkey. Murat (Baki Davrak) is Lola's baby brother, also gay, living with his mother and older brother, Osman (Hasan Ali Mete) who disowned Lola for his proclivities. After 15 years Lola returns home to demand his inheritance share to proceed with his sex change and reunites with Murat eventually revealing murky family secrets: the results are tragic to all involved. This is the main story of the film. But there are many others!
There is a fascinating relationship between another Turk Iskender (Murat Yilmaz) who is picked up by an older elegant German Friedrich (Michael Gerber) whose affair meets with challenges from his aged but grand mother Ute (a marvelous Inge Keller!). And there is the gay bashing drama between young German lads and the Turks which instead of being simply an evil tragedy is a character study of why gay bashing occurs: the main perpetrator is ambivalent about his own sexuality and the way this story plays out is both gruesome and heartbreaking.
Yes, there are other side stories but suffice it to say that Ataman has created a film mesmerizing in content and production. It is one of those films that pleads to be watched again after the various stories have been told: knowledge of the ending events is yet more potent the second time around. Recommended for lovers of art films. In German with subtitles. Grady Harp, December 05
Be Carefull For This Director !.......2002-09-09
Kutlug Ataman is one of most succesfull new Turkish director.We are waiting a new project from him.
A SUPERB MOVIE.......2002-07-10
First I must thank and congratulate the director of this movie and all the actors. This is a must own movie which you'll want to watch over and over... don't miss it!
Flawed Lola shows lots of promise.......2001-10-21
Lola and Billy the Kid is a very good movie for about three quarters of its length. As a portrait of young gay men getting by in an oppressive social mileiu this film is rather better than Don't Tell Anyone (certainly better photographed and scored) if inferior to Head On, one of the key gay films of the last few years. It's also deeply flawed...the aspects dealing with a young Turkish man coming to terms with his sexuality are very well done but the whole gory sequence involving the revenge of psychopathic Billy on his ex-lover Lola's killers
is absurd and throws the film completely out of whack. It takes the film awhile to regain it's balance again and frankly there will be those who lose all respect and interest for the film after that sequence. The best parts of the film involve a subplot with a wealthy German man Friedrich, his proud and pompous mother (brilliantly played by Inge Keller) and an incredibly handsome Turkish rough-trade number played by the alarmingly sexy Murat Yilmaz. All of the sequences with them are very funny and provide some welcome relief from the non-stop melodrama of the rest of the film. In fact, if this subplot had been the MAIN plot of the film and the whole Lola murder/revenge bit dropped the film would have been indisputably great. As it is now, it's a seriously flawed but overall worthwhile entertainment for those interested in the subject matter.
Waste of time and money.......2001-09-24
Hated it threw it behind the tv with meet the parents were it will never see the light of day. 1 star is to good for it
Customer Reviews:
A Dazzling Kaleidoscopic Theme and Variations .......2005-12-17
Lola + Bilidikid (Lola and Billy the Kid) written and directed by the dynamic E. Kutlug Ataman is an immensely interesting view of the lives of Turks in Berlin. The many characters introduced at a seemingly random fashion all are woven in the loom of Ataman, becoming one connected tapestry of ethnic clashes, humor, drama, and intensely moving views of family and love. From the quiet moments at the beginning to the unexpected ending this film dazzles with color, music, highly developed character development by some fine actors, and edge of the seat tension.
The Turkish subculture in Berlin is the hotbed for trouble between Turks and Germans. Add to this setting the fact that the film deals with the taboos of gay life, transgender and transvestite men, and the concomitant stresses of families who deal with these issues on a daily basis and the result is a film full of richly detailed stories.
Lola (Gandi Mukli), a Turkish drag queen has a lover Billy the Kid (Erdal Yildiz), a macho, closeted Turk who views his role as the Man and Lola as the woman and encourages Lola to have gender altering surgery so they can live as husband and wife back in Turkey. Murat (Baki Davrak) is Lola's baby brother, also gay, living with his mother and older brother, Osman (Hasan Ali Mete) who disowned Lola for his proclivities. After 15 years Lola returns home to demand his inheritance share to proceed with his sex change and reunites with Murat eventually revealing murky family secrets: the results are tragic to all involved. This is the main story of the film. But there are many others!
There is a fascinating relationship between another Turk Iskender (Murat Yilmaz) who is picked up by an older elegant German Friedrich (Michael Gerber) whose affair meets with challenges from his aged but grand mother Ute (a marvelous Inge Keller!). And there is the gay bashing drama between young German lads and the Turks which instead of being simply an evil tragedy is a character study of why gay bashing occurs: the main perpetrator is ambivalent about his own sexuality and the way this story plays out is both gruesome and heartbreaking.
Yes, there are other side stories but suffice it to say that Ataman has created a film mesmerizing in content and production. It is one of those films that pleads to be watched again after the various stories have been told: knowledge of the ending events is yet more potent the second time around. Recommended for lovers of art films. In German with subtitles. Grady Harp, December 05
Be Carefull For This Director !.......2002-09-09
Kutlug Ataman is one of most succesfull new Turkish director.We are waiting a new project from him.
A SUPERB MOVIE.......2002-07-10
First I must thank and congratulate the director of this movie and all the actors. This is a must own movie which you'll want to watch over and over... don't miss it!
Flawed Lola shows lots of promise.......2001-10-21
Lola and Billy the Kid is a very good movie for about three quarters of its length. As a portrait of young gay men getting by in an oppressive social mileiu this film is rather better than Don't Tell Anyone (certainly better photographed and scored) if inferior to Head On, one of the key gay films of the last few years. It's also deeply flawed...the aspects dealing with a young Turkish man coming to terms with his sexuality are very well done but the whole gory sequence involving the revenge of psychopathic Billy on his ex-lover Lola's killers
is absurd and throws the film completely out of whack. It takes the film awhile to regain it's balance again and frankly there will be those who lose all respect and interest for the film after that sequence. The best parts of the film involve a subplot with a wealthy German man Friedrich, his proud and pompous mother (brilliantly played by Inge Keller) and an incredibly handsome Turkish rough-trade number played by the alarmingly sexy Murat Yilmaz. All of the sequences with them are very funny and provide some welcome relief from the non-stop melodrama of the rest of the film. In fact, if this subplot had been the MAIN plot of the film and the whole Lola murder/revenge bit dropped the film would have been indisputably great. As it is now, it's a seriously flawed but overall worthwhile entertainment for those interested in the subject matter.
Waste of time and money.......2001-09-24
Hated it threw it behind the tv with meet the parents were it will never see the light of day. 1 star is to good for it
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![Lola and Billy the Kid [Region 2]](http://www.germanelectronics88.com/noimage.gif)