Lola and the Sea

2019 1h 30m FR

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 70

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Just when Lola, 18 years old and transgender, learns that she can finally have surgery, her mother, who is her only financial support, passes away. Abiding by her mother’s last wishes, Lola and her father, who are permanently in conflict and have not seen each other for two years, undertake a journey all the way to the Belgian coast. They realize the outcome of the journey may not be the one they were both expecting...

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Mya Bollaers
Lola
Benoît Magimel
Philippe
Els Deceukelier
La patronne
Sami Outalbali
Samir
Jeremie Zagba
Antoine
Anemone Valcke
La danseuse
Adriana Da Fonseca
La secrétaire médicale
Delphine Bibet
La chirurgienne

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Laurent Micheli
Writers: Laurent Micheli
Languages: French, Dutch
Countries: Belgium, France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 7 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Dutch.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Laurent Micheli, shot by Olivier Boonjing. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Raf Keunen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Julie Naas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mya Bollaers and Benoît Magimel and Els Deceukelier carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Laurent Micheli directs. Olivier Boonjing behind the camera. Raf Keunen scores. Julie Naas cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, France. Dialogue in French, Dutch.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 7 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Dutch.
4International production across 2 countries: Belgium, France.
5Directed by Laurent Micheli, shot by Olivier Boonjing. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Raf Keunen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Julie Naas shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Mya Bollaers and Benoît Magimel and Els Deceukelier carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt8356178 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 70 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Olivier Boonjing
Original score: Raf Keunen
Editing: Julie Naas
Production design: Catherine Cosme
Runtime: 90 min · 1h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
Certification (US): 12
IMDB: Lola and the Sea (2019)

Awards

Magritte Award for Most Promising Actress
Magritte Award for Best Production Design

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Laurent Micheli

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-04-02
★ 7/10
“Lola”, or “Lionel” as her dad would have it, has returned home uninvited for the wake of her late mother. Bluntly, “Philippe” (Benoît Magimel) wants nothing to do with his offspring and so sends her packing. Despondent, she (Mya Boolaers) waits until he has gone out and then breaks in to take one last look around her home and also, more incidentally, acquires the urn with her mum’s ashes in it. Of course it doesn’t take long for him to realise where they are but after a tussle he agrees that she can accompany him to the familial seaside home where they can spread the ashes over the water. What now ensues sees us take a road trip with a difference with both starting out despising the other, but then beginning a realisation that neither of their entrenched positions are going to help one or the other. No, this isn’t a predicable effort that all ends in cuddles and champagne as both of these actors and some pithy writing invite us to consider just what our priorities might be in the face of grief, when the relationship is already well cemented into quite a toxic bedrock of misunderstanding and loathing. The fact that “Lola” is about to undergo her transitional surgery adds an extra layer of complexity to the story, but even without that this is still quite a resonating tale of a father/child relationship that has festered and been neglected because for both parties, that might actually have been the easier short-term solution. It’s not just “Lola” who is having issues with identity here and both Magimel and the impressive Bollaers deliver something more substantial than soapy here.

Production companies