All it took was the animated opening credits and techno score sell me on Tom Tykwer’s 1998 German cult hit Lola Rennt (better known to English audiences as Run Lola Run). The film stars Franka Potente, in a career-making performance, as the titular Lola, who receives a desperate call from her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu). Manni was supposed to deliver a bag of 100,000 Deutschmarks to a crime boss, but he accidently left it on a subway. He needs the money before the boss arrives in 20 minutes or else his goose will be cooked. In desperation, Manni threatens to rob a local supermarket, but Lola promises that she will find more money and get it to him in time. As such, Lola literally runs all over Berlin in order to desperately find the money needed to save her boyfriend. Of course, things don’t initially go as planned, but this is a movie where the world is able to reset itself and Lola can just try a different route. There isn’t all that much to the story of Run Lola Run, but that doesn’t make it any less fun a film to watch. The film uses the Groundhog Day method of showing the same events from slightly different perspectives. Lola’s actions in the film not only affects her own future, but of those around her. I thought that it was a nice little touch to show a series of photos showing what happens to each of the people Lola interacts with over the course of the film. This is definitely one of those films that gives the message that everything is connected in some weird way. While the film is an original story written by Tykwer, there is a real comic book feel to film. This is partially due to the bright red hair Potente sports for the film, but also in some other cartoony elements, such as Lola’s high-pitched screams. Also, the fact that Lola is somehow able to try her mission again after failing makes the film feel like it is a cinematic video game. I should also make note of the film’s red hued “intermission” scenes, which feature Lola and Manni lying in their bed talking about their relationship. These scenes allow the film to slow down a little bit, before the octane goes back up again in the next chapter. As per the title, a good chunk of the film involves Lola running through the streets of Berlin. This may sound boring, but along with the film’s techno score (co-composed by Tykwer himself and featuring vocals by Potente), these running scenes make for quite the visual spectacle. In some ways, I wish that I saw the film theatrically, since that will definitely be the best way to experience the film. That said, watching the film via blu-ray on a 50-inch TV wasn’t half bad either (just don’t watch this type of film on your iPhone). Overall, Run Lola Run was one very high octane and fun film. I very much enjoyed the film and I’ll definitely be watching this again at some point (hopefully on the big screen). 9 | REALLY LIKED IT
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