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Run Lola Run

Starring: Franka Potente, Moritz Bleibtreu
Director: Tom Tykwer
Genre: Thriller
Year: 1998
Rating: 5 / 5

Reviewed by Guest Scribe Julio

Is there nothing on TV tonight? Have you seen all the new releases at the local video store? Misplaced your personal copy of Navy Seals? Well, you could try reading a book or (gasp!) striking up a conversation with someone, but before you do anything that drastic, why not check out director Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run?

Run Lola Run is a stylistic, innovative, intellectual movie that was a big hit among the art house crowd. It's also in German with English subtitles or overdubbing. Hopefully I have not scared you off with the last two sentences, because Run Lola Run has a fast-paced, high-energy, quick, slick style that many mainstream moviegoers will find appealing. The story is relatively straight-forward: Lola's (Franka Potente) boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) owes 100,000 deutsche marks to some shady underworld types. Lola has twenty minutes to get the money and bring it to Manni before the ruthless gangsters discover that he does not have it.

The film moves at a breakneck, frantic pace, as Lola literally runs through the urban landscape, desperately trying anything she can think of to get the money in time. For the audience, the experience is a lot like watching some bizarre combination of a MTV music video and the Indy 500. And I do mean bizarre. Tykwer does everything he can to keep the audience on its toes. The film switches from color to black-and-white and vice versa. At times, Tykwer switches from moving pictures to stills-almost like a slideshow. He even throws in a couple of animated scenes. Toss in a story which violates the basic rules of space and time, and you know that you have something different.

While these unconventional techniques may alienate some viewers, I believe they work within the context of the movie. If things seem like they are moving too fast, and if the film occasionally gets out of control, that's because it's SUPPOSED to be that way. The runaway train approach effectively allows the audience to empathize with the title character and experience her life-and-death race against time. The high-energy techno soundtrack also works to keep the adrenaline flowing, as does the fact that the entire film lasts just over 80 minutes.

I feel compelled to pause here and mention the excellent performance turned in by Franka Potente. Run Lola Run can only work if the audience cares about the title character. The viewer needs to forget he is watching a movie, get caught up in the action, and cheer Lola on. This can be a difficult trick to pull off in a movie that does not always follow the rules of the real world, but Potente successfully creates a character that is both believable and likeable. She has a special combination of charisma and talent, and it is easy to see why she is a popular actress in her homeland.

Like all good art house films, Run Lola Run is not just pure entertainment. It also has a message. The moral: every decision we make - no matter how seemingly inconsequential and trivial it may be - can have drastic, far-reaching consequences. While this can be a pretty heady concept, Tykwer wraps it in a pleasant pop-art coating that makes it easy to swallow. He never loses sight of the fact that his primary goal is to create something that will entertain first, and teach second. The end result is a movie that is, above all else, a whole lot of fun.

Cast:

Certification: Rated R for violence and language.
Running Time: 79 minutes.

Additional Info: Internet Movie Database
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